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HKESE.NTEI) BY 






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In Service 




S. HERBERT WOLFE 

Brigadier General, Finance Reserve Corps, 
Army of the United States 




PRINTED FOR PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION 

1922 



^« 



T?^<' 



Gift 
Author 

«CT S! 1921 



jForetoorli 

ONE of the distressing- after-effects of the war will 
be the number of books which will be written by 
the soldiers who took part in it. I have no desire 
to be numbered among- those who will attempt to inflict 
their views and personal experiences on the public, but 
I remember how keenly I have been interested in the 
military papers of my father and how much I regret the 
loss by shipwreck of the major portion of his service 
records. That he left no permanent record of his many 
unusual experiences in the field, his interviews with 
Lincoln, Grant and other public men and his experiences 
while on staff duty in Washington during the Civil War, 
is likewise unfortunate for those are tales which in the 
interest of accuracy should not be handed down by word 
of mouth. 

In the hope, therefore, that my children may be 
glad to have this account of my experiences in France, 
England and in this country during the World War, I 
have prepared this memorandum. 

Being an account of my personal doings and not a 
literary effort, the personal pronoun must of necessity 
be prominent and I make no apology for its frequent 
appearance. 

S. Herbert Wolfe 



It is not my intention to discuss the events which precipi- 
tated the World War. I doubt whether anyone is able at this 
time to decide where the responsibility for the struggle rests. 
If the truth were known it is probable that the fixing of the 
responsibility would entail an examination of political, economic 
and financial histories extending over many years. I shall there- 
fore leave to others the duty of describing the events which 
brought about the first outbreak and the occurrences of the 
first two years. 

It must have been apparent to anybody who had given the 
subject any consideration at all that the training and education 
of Army officers did not necessarily fit them for the problems 
which would confront those who would be required to equip, 
maintain and transport the large armies which I felt would be 
required if we ever went to war. On December 15, 1908, I 
wrote to the President of the United States and suggested to 
him the formation of a body of civilians who by their knowledge 
of business affairs would supplement the work of the regular 
Army officers. To this letter I received the following reply : 

"WAR DEPARTMENT 
Washington 

January 6, 1909. 
Sir: 

'The Secretary of War directs me to acknowledge the receipt 
by reference from the President of your letter of the 15th ultimo, 
wherein you suggest the organization of a body of civilians to 
be trained in methods of transporting and providing subsistence 
for troops in time of war. In reply you are informed that your 
letter was referred to the Quartermaster General and the Com- 
missary General, whose reports on the subject are quoted below: 
Legislation and appropriation would be required to 
inaugurate such a scheme as herein proposed and any 
Legislation covering the matter would have to be based on 
some plan of permanency, as a yearly tour of two weeks only 
would result in no benefit to the service in war-time as far 
as acquiring even a basic knowledge of the many duties of 
the Quartermaster's Department. The Quartermasters of the 
different organizations of the National Guard already in ser- 
vice would be more available, furnishing a handier and better 
class of material from which to draw on for an auxiliary 
quartermaster's corps, than from civilians at large, as pro- 
posed, (signed) J. B. Aleshire, Quartermaster General, U. 
S. A. 

General Orders No. 6, War Department, 1904, drawn in 
conformitj^ with the Act of Congress approved January 21, 



1903, entitled 'An Act to promote the efficiency of the Militia 
and for other purposes,' provides for certain examinations 
to secure lists of persons specially qualified to hold com- 
missions in any volunteer force which may hereafter be called 
for and organized under the authority of Congress, other 
than a force composed of organized militia. 

This act of Congress provides the remedy for the con- 
dition set forth by Mr. Wolfe, but unfortunately, so far as 
this particular Department is concerned, little interest has 
been taken by individuals to have their names listed as 
specially qualified for subsistence work. 

This office realizes fully the difficulty in securing proper 
material in time of war out of which to make efficient sub- 
sistence officers, and would be only too glad to assist in every 
way applicants who desire to take examinations, so that in 
war-times the list of available men who have demonstrated 
their efficiency would be as large as possible. 

For the purpose of assisting these applicants this office 
would cheerfully recommend that authority be granted them 
to visit any of the stations of the Subsistence Department 
for the purpose of being instructed in their duties, at the 
place and periods of time most convenient to the applicants. 
Further, an applicant successful in his examinations would be 
assisted in every way possible in keeping up with the ad- 
vances made in the method of subsisting troops. (Signed) 
Henry G. Sharpe, Commissary General." 

Very respectfully, 
John C. Scofield, 

Mr. S. H. Wolfe, Assistant and Chief Clerk. 

165 Broadway, 

New York City. 

1 Inclosure. 

Of course, in view of this documentary evidence it would 
be very logical for me to claim that in 1908 I foresaw the possi- 
bility of the World War, but honesty compels me to admit that 
my plea for the creation of this reserve corps did not originate 
in such an idea. The letter from the War Department, however, 
was not encouraging and I determined, therefore, to hold the 
matter in abeyance. As soon, however, as the war clouds burst 
in 1914, I saw the opportunity of making use of my idea and it 
is interesting to note that very soon after we entered the war 
it became necessary to adopt the suggestion which I made in 
1908, for in no other way could the wonderful record which the 
American Army made for transporting and equipping its men in 
so short a time have been accomplished. 



II 

The progress of affairs during 1914, 1915 and 1916 made a 
number of things apparent to every thinking man in this country. 
The first of these was that sooner or later this country would 
become an active combatant ; whatever doubt on this point may 
have existed at first, it was clear that the sinking of the Lusitania 
and the unrestricted operations of the U-boats would require us 
to take a decided stand in the interest of humanity. The second 
thing that was apparent was the woeful unpreparedness of this 
country. I doubt whether anyone realized the full extent of our 
helplessness until the events which followed our entry into war 
demonstrated so unmistakably our short sightedness in failing 
to profit by the experience of other nations. 

Attempts were made by various people to meet this situation 
along different lines. The first Plattsburg camp had been held 
and this served admirably to emphasize the need for trained men 
in the military establishment. 

On January 17th, 1916, I wrote the following letter to the 
New York Times : 



The Editor. 

The New York Times. 

Sir:— 

"If the present war has taught us one thing above all others, 
it is the great advantage which results from the ability to have a 
large force ready to strike rather than to have to drill and train 
the various units after the declaration of war. This is the key- 
note of the entire plea for preparedness 

A careful reading of the proposed bills for the increase of 
our armed forces and a study of the programs which have been 
spread before the American public, do not, in my opinion, take 
cognizance of a very important factor. 

In the rearrangement of the military establishment some 
place should be found for those who are beyond the age of 
active military service, but who, by virtue of their training and 
experience, could be of peculiar value to the Government. There 
are certain duties which, while vital to the success of an armed 
force have more of an administrative than a military function. 
Such, for example, is the solution of problems dealing with the 
obtaining of food supplies, of arms, of ammunition, of clothing, 
with their manufacture under forced conditions, with the trans- 
portation of men and supplies and the various other matters 
related to them. A reserve force trained to look after such needs 
of large bodies of troops, could be entrusted with certain duties 
now devolving upon the Ordnance, Quartermaster and Commissary 



Dcpailmcnts, thus relieving: sotiio o( tlic olVicers of those Depart- 
im'iits for service in other directions. Men between the ages of 
40 and 50, connected with large industrial enterprises who have 
been especially trained in organization, in directing large num- 
bers of employees in the most effective way, who are skilled in 
liandling i)roblems of administration, constitute a group of civil- 
ians possessing a form of ability which should prove particularly 
valuable in times of emergency. 

I have been told tliat civilians interested in the various 
branches of engineering are now arranging to be of service to 
the C'lovernment in case of war and this is a step in the right 
ilirection. The pri>posal outlined above, however, deals not with 
engineers, but with men who have been especially trained along 
the lines indicated. 

The fact that recruits may be enlisted in the National Guard 
uii to age 45. does not solve the problem, for the men who would 
be entrusted with this work of organisation and who are now 
beyond the age of 40, could not be expected to enlist in the 
National Guard: iti fact, there is no place in that body where 
they could be used etYectively. 

If this suggestion appeals to any of your readers I would 
be ghul to have them correspond with me for the purpose of 
tindit\g out whether there is some way of carrying out the plan." 

Yours trulv, 

S. H. WOLFE. 

'VUc rcspoiK^o whicli I roooivod to this were most encourag- 
ing-. A nntnlier of professional men telephoned or wrote to me. 
pleili^ing their ei>-operation. .Xmotiji them were F. E. Townsetid. 
Sturtiis Laurence. B. G. Burtnett, Major C. H Eagle and Archi- 
bald E. Stevenson. Copies of the "Times" were sent to ex-Presi- 
dent Roosevelt and Major General Leonard Wood, with the 
request that if thev approved of the idea they assist in forming 
the organization. The following replies were received: 

Oyster Bay, 
Long Lsland, N. Y. 

Februarv 4. 1016. 
My Dear Mr. Wolfe:— 

■"That is a very interesting suggestion contained in your 
letter, but it is not possible for me to take up matters of that 
kind at this time." 

Sincerely yours, 

(Signed^ T. ROOSEVELT. 

Headquarters Eastern Department. 
Governor's Island. X. V. 

January J5. \^\6. 

My Pear Sir :— 

"Yours received. I think there is indeed a place for older 
men in the general scheme of preparedness. Their place is in 
connection with the organization of <upply departments and 
work behind the lines, work where business experience and 
capacity for organization will tell." 

\"ery truly yours. 

(Signed) LEONARD WOOD. 
Mr. S. H. Wolfe. 

lev? Broadwav. New York Citv. 



In order that the details might be discussed, all who had 
written to me were invited to meet in the directors' room of 
the United States Casualty Company, the use of which had been 
cheerfully given for that purpose by Edson S. Lott, President of 
the Company. I notified General Wood of my intention and he 
wrote as follows : 

En route to Boston, 
February 14, 1916. 
My Dear Sir : — 

"Your letter received. If you will give me the date of the 
next meeting I will try and arrange to have Colonel Bellinger 
or Captain Dorey of my staff present to talk the matter over 
with you." 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed) LEONARD WOOD. 
Mr. S. H. Wolfe, 

165 Broadway, New York City. 

At the meeting Colonel John M. Bellinger. Q. M. Corps. 
U. S. A., represented General Wood and indicated the way in 
which the proposed organization could be of service to the 
Government. At the Colonel's suggestion I prepared an outline 
of the organization, its scope and the duties of those who would 
join. This outline was discussed with him and Major Frank H. 
Lawton, who was then on duty on Governor's Island. They 
were good enough to approve of tlie general plan and to suggest 
that I present it to the War Department officials in Washington. 

Although I have had considerable experience in submitting 
new propositions to those in authority, I must admit that I was 
unprepared for the lack of interest and lack of desire to co-oper- 
ate which was manifested by those in Washington. I had no 
illusions as to the value of my idea. Our unpreparedness was 
something which everybody had to admit : that soon there would 
be need for the services of the kind indicated was likewise too 
obvious to permit of discussion : that the regular establishment 
could not spare men to take up these duties was equally clear ; 
that my proposal (approved as it had been by General Wood 
and such practical Quartermasters as Colonel Bellinger and 
Major Lawton) would enable the Government to obtain the 
services of professional men with special qualifications, was 
apparent. Notwithstanding all of these facts, however, there 
was a spirit of antagonism in Washington which would have 
discouraged one imbued with less confidence in his proposal. 
Lindley M. Garrison, the then Secretary of War. was away and 
I was referred to Major General Hugh L. Scott. Polite frigidity 
would be the proper characterization of the reception accorded 
me. The request to have General Scott (who was then Chief of 
Stafi") refer the matter with recommendations to the Quarter- 
master General of the Army was denied and I returned to New 
York disgusted not with the men with whom I had come in 
contact, but with the blind adoration of the existing svstem 



which tliey manifested and the refusal to try something new 
simply because it had never been done before. 

After considering the matter at some length I came to the 
conclusion that the only way in which my object could be accom- 
plished would be by directly entering the service through the 
Reserve Corps of the Army. 1 had served over five years in the 
22nd Regiment of Infantry, National Guard, New York, and had 
thereby l)ecome familiar with basic military matters; I had 
studied various manuals issued by the different bureaus of the 
War Department from time to time and I felt that it would not 
take me long to master the necessary subjects for the examina- 
tion. About this time T became acquainted with a newspaper 
writer — John M. Oskison — who was interested in the same sub- 
ject and who had attended the Plattsburg Camp. We arranged 
to study together and for several months burned the midnight 
oil mastering the details of army "paper v/ork," regulations, rules 
for the care of horses and kindred subjects. Learning that a 
certain number of men would be admitted to the Reserve Corps 
on their professional qualifications without examination, applica- 
tion was made with the approval of General Wood, but the 
application arrived one or two days after the War Department 
decided to admit no more without examination and it was there- 
fore denied. 

Orders were finally received from Washington directing me 
to report for examination early in May, 1917, and together with 
a number of other candidates for commissions in the different 
branches of the service. I presented myself at the Army Build- 
ing, 39 Whitehall Street, New York City ; a non-com in the 
Hospital Corps tested my ability to detect different colors and 
shades by having me select pieces of wool yarn, and also tested 
my hearing; a Captain in the Medical Corps completed the exam- 
ination of the various organs and after certifying to my physical 
capacity directed me to the Board of Examiners. 

Of the seven who entered the physical examination only 
three of us emerged successfully ; this was somewhat of a shock 
for it indicated from the physical standpoint how poorly equipped 
was the average citizen of mature age to enter military service. 
Subsequently I learned that this was also the experience in 
England and it is a commentary upon the conditions of life 
surrounding the man of sedentary habits. Afterwards, I believe 
the standards were lowered as the rejections were interfering 
with the military program. 

I shall never forget the mental examination which we re- 
ceived. Two retired army officers — one Major Whipple (Cavalry) 
and the other Captain Piper, an Infantry officer — put us through 
our paces. For three hours we were submitted to a gruelling 
examination. The findings of the Board were forwarded to 
Washington and we were left in doubt as to our fate. 



10 



Ill 

As soon as it became evident that there would be war 
between this country and Germany, the life insurance com- 
panies gave serious attention to the question of additional prem- 
iums to be charged to those who entered the military or naval 
service. Nearly every company decided to charge no additional 
premium on policies then in force, but the methods to be followed 
in the case of new issues varied greatly ; in fact, there were 
nearly as many diflferent plans as there were companies ; some 
planned to charge $100 for each $1,000 of insurance, the payments 
to continue for five years ; others planned to limit the payments 
to two years ; still others planned to charge $25 per $1,000 as 
long as the policyholder was engaged in military or naval ser- 
vice irrespective of the field of operation. I felt that the addi- 
tional charge would be prohibitive in man}^ cases and would 
serve to discourage enlistments. 

This matter was discussed at great length with Mr. Justice 
Brandeis of the Supreme Court of the United States and at his 
suggestion I placed the matter before Mr. Ingraham, then Assist- 
ant Secretary of War, and Mr. Howard Coffin, of the Advisory 
Commission of the Council of National Defense. I had very 
courteous interviews with both of them April 11th; Mr. 
Ingraham felt that the proposed activity was one in which his 
department should not engage. I. of course, could not agree 
with him and this and the subsequent history of the War Risk 
Insurance Bureau showed the correctness of mv judgment: Mr. 
Cofiin asked me to submit the matter to him in writing, which 
1 did on April 12th. Under date of April 17th, he wrote a non- 
committal formal letter of acknowledgment in the course of 
which he said : 

"This of course brings up problems, the solution of which is 
only now being taken up. I can only say that the matter is in 
the hands of the Director for action." 

Although the matter was taken up with Mr. Gifford, the 
Director, by me, I was never able to get any action by the 
Advisory Commission. I mention these matters in order that 
they may form links in the chain of events which led to the 
formation of the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 

The National Convention of Insurance Commissioners at its 
meeting in Des Moines, on April 17th, 1917, appointed a com- 
mittee to take up with the life insurance companies the question 

11 



of uniform war service regulations. The committee invited all 
of the life insurance companies to send representatives to meet 
them at the Hotel Astor, in New York, on April 27th, 1917. At 
that time a joint committee of the commissioners and repre- 
sentatives from the companies prepared a joint report setting 
forth recommendations upon which all had agreed and urging 
every company to adopt the recommendations contained therein. 

The matter had been discussed at length by a number of 
people and the suggestion had been made by the President of one 
of the insurance companies in a letter to the President of the 
United States that the companies should issue policies at their 
regular rates and that the Government should agree with the 
companies to make up any mortality experienced in excess of 
the American Experience Table. 

The matter was of interest not only from the actuarial 
standpoint, but in view of its direct bearing upon enlistments ; 
T felt that it was the patriotic duty of everyone to devise some 
plan whereby the policies of the large number of men who would 
probably be required to serve their country could be saved for 
the benefit of their families ; I feared that the charging of the 
proposed additional premium would interfere with the taking 
out of the necessary protection, which would result in privation 
and hardships to many of their dependents. 

At the request of one of the technical magazines, I sug- 
gested the following plan for handling the situation. 

LIFE INSURANCE AND THE WAR— A SUGGESTION 

By S. H. Wolfe, Consulting Actuary 

(Written exclusively for Insurance and Commercial IMagaziiie) 



"Per capita, the people of the United States enjoy better life insur- 
ance protection than do the inhabitants of any other country. 

This is merely another waj' of saying that our people have been 
quicker to grasp the economic advantage of permitting a large number 
to share the financial damage caused by their death instead of bearing 
it individually with no help from their fellows. 

Is it any wonder then that the patriotic man about to obey the call 
of his country will stop long enough to see how his act will affect the 
protection which he has provided for his dependents, for in many cases 
the insurance policy is the thing which will spell the difference between 
comfort and discomfort for his family in the event of his death? 

Now. the policies of different companies vary in their provisions. 
Some do not refer in any way to military or naval service, others assume 
that risk after one or two years, while still a third group requires the 
insured, if he wants to keep his policy in full force and effect, to obtain 
a permit and pay such extra premium as the company may decide it is 
necessary to charge. 

But after he has made a rapid calculation of the high cost of living 
and the disappearance of the usual pay envelope and salary cheque while 
he is at the front, he may come to the conclusion that he really ought 
to have more insurance. He does not anticipate any trouble, for prob- 
ably he has been importuned time and time again to put his name on 
the dotted line. In fact, he may have had difficulty in resisting the 
appeals of his friend— the agent. So, full of confidence, he telephones 
to the agent to come and see him. 

12 



Shock No. 1 is now due. 

The news is gently broken to him that in policies issued hereafter 
there will be a provision that if he engages in military or naval service 
under certain conditions he must pay an extra premium. 

As yet there has been no universal rule adopted by the companies 
in this country, and some may decide to charge no extra premaum if the 
service is performed within the limits of the United States : others may 
charge $50 each year on each $1,000 of insurance; if his services takes 
him out of the country the insured will be called upon to pay annually 
$100 or $150 for each $1,000 of insurance. Of course, those charges are 
prohibitive, and if the war should last five years — the period during 
which most of these additional premiums are payable — the insured would 
practically pay the cost of his policy. 

Now comes shock No. 2. 

Even if he should be willing to pay the extra premium, he may be 
able to get only a very limited amount of insurance, for companies have 
reduced the limits of the coverage which they are willing to give to 
those who engage in military or naval service. One large company has 
announced that it will not issue such policies in excess of $5,000. and 
when the regular premium and the extra premium are taken into account, 
it will be seen that the policyholder is receiving mighty little insurance 
protection. 

It is therefore natural for the prospective policyholder to attempt 
to find out the cause for this increase and to determine whether the 
companies have simply become panic-stricken or whether they are really 
afifected by the war situation. 

Of course, there is no question but that warfare has an eflFect upon 
the mortality of insurance companies, but it is incorrect to consider 
that the sole effect is felt by those who are in the fighting ranks. Even 
the mortality on the peaceful stay-at-home may, under certain condi- 
tions, show an abnormal increase. 

The reason why life insurance companies are interested in the 
question of war risks are two — first, because with other American 
corporations they will have to meet a large part of the cost of war in 
the shape of special war taxes and ordinary corporation taxes, and, 
second, because all of their contracts with their policyholders involve 
two sets of calculations — mortality and interest earnings — both of which 
are directly affected by war conditions. 

Of course, the primary purpose of an insurance company is the 
payment of claims. No one element enters so largely into the cost of 
that function as mortality. The companies, therefore, are vitally inter- 
ested and concerned in anything which is so essential to a proper basis 
for their relations with their clients. It requires no extended proof to 
show that war does affect the mortality experience of a company, but 
perhaps we have lost sight of the changed methods of conducting war- 
fare. Formerly a company's mortality was in direct proportion to the 
number of its policyholders who were enrolled as active fighters; 
thanks to modern methods of conducting war, this has been changed 
and new factors have been introduced. Not only are companies con- 
cerned in the casualties of the firing line, but I venture to say that a 
considerable variation in the rate of mortality can be ascribed to 
collateral causes. In Germany, for instance, the shortage in food sup- 
plies and the difficulty in obtaining food with the proper amount of 
nutrition must be contributing factors to an excessive mortality among 
those who are not directly engaged in the actual fighting. 

Zeppelin raids and all of the other different forms of aerial inva- 
sion contribute additional mortality risks to non-combatants. 

Passing now to the other factor entering into insurance calcula- 
tions — the interest rate. Nobody knows just what effect the war in 
Germany, for instance, will have upon the principal of such securities 
as internal war loans in which the funds of her life insurance companies 

13 



have been invested. Will such indebtedness be repudiated or will their 
payment be provided for by the levying of taxes upon a scale as to 
amount to practical repudiation? We must wait until the present war 
is ended before a satisfactory answer to those questions can be obtained. 

But irrespective of any consideration of the security of the prin- 
cipal, we do know that in every country violent fluctuations have 
taken place in the interest yield, and in consequence all calculations 
based upon interest rates have been directly affected. At the present 
time short-term notes of some of the principal countries at war are 
being offered upon a basis which will yield over 8 per cent, and in some 
cases 9 per cent. The entrance of this country into the war can have 
only one effect, viz: to still further increase the interest rate at which 
securities will become attractive to capital available for investments. 
The value of the securities now held by insurance companies will be 
directly affected by these fluctuations in the interest rate. 

From the above we may properly conclude that war conditions 
affect not only the fighting man, but every policyholder on the books 
of an insurance company. It must follow, therefore, that every policy- 
holder is vitally interested in reducing the time during which such 
abnormal conditions prevail. Is it good policy, therefore, to discourage 
military or naval service by imposing penalties upon those who are 
able and willing to do the actual fighting? 

But that is just what some companies are doing, and it seems to 
me that instead of discouraging efforts to shorten the duration of war, 
every attempt should be made to encourage those acts which will safe- 
guard the interest of all of the policyholders by bringing the fighting to 
a prompt termination. 

How can this be done? In the first place, let us not lose sight 
of the fact stated before, viz: that insurance companies were primarily 
intended to furnish insurance protection. The question of profits is 
entirely secondary. If we are prepared to admit that, the rest of the 
proposition is comparatively easy. Why should we attempt to separate 
the mortality as between the combatants and non-combatants? Are we 
not justified in assuming that if any additional mortality be experienced 
in the former class it is the result of an endeavor to maintain intact the 
equities of the entire body of policyholders and therefore it should be 
assumed not by any particular class, but by the entire body? Of course, 
this would result in those profits which arise from favorable mortality 
among the non-combatants being used in part — or even in whole — for 
the pavment of unusual death claims instead of being distributed in the 
form of dividends. After all. however, this is both just and equitable. 

Our chief concern is with the new entrants. Are they to be de- 
prived of the benefits of life insurance protection by the imposition of 
an additional premium purposely made prohibitive? If so, the matter 
seems wrong in principle. 

For the reasons outlined above, I am of the opinion that the 
proper procedure would be for the companies by concerted action to 
agree to issue policies for a certain restricted amount at the regular 
rates and to provide for the additional mortality from the profits which 
would ordinarily be distributed in the shape of dividends to policyholders 
or to stockholders. Last year the records of the three largest companies 
were as follows : 

Dividends Paid to Death Claims 

Company Policyholders Paid 

A $13,226,900.00 $23,067,760.00 

B 19,695,355.00 29,332,346.00 

C 17,518,116.00 25,741,436.00 

This is the record for one year only, and when we stop to consider 
that these companies very wisely did not distribute all of their profits, 
we can appreciate the reserve power of life insurance companies to meet 
unusual conditions such as the one which now confronts us. 

14 



There is still another flexible fund which may be used as a 'shock 
absorber' for the three companies shown above were holding at the end 
of 1916 certain funds representing profits to be paid to policyholders in 
the future. These undistributed profits amounted to the enormous sum 
of $212,592,887, and there is no reason why they should not be used for 
any legitimate purpose, such as the one indicated. What is the true 
significance of these accumulations? Disregarding for the moment the 
question of normal profits on the business in force and assuming that 
each policyholder serving outside of the limits of the United States is 
required to pay an additional premium of 10 per cent, of the amount of 
insurance, each $100,000,000 of undistributed profits on hand would pay 
the additional premium for one year on $1,000,000,000 of insurance, and 
therefore, in the three companies shown above, the accumulated profits 
of over $200,000,000 would be sufficient to pay the additional premium for 
one year on over $2,000,000,000 of insurance protection. 

While, of course, it is impossible to tell just how much insurance 
will be issued upon the lives of those who will be exposed to the war 
hazard, it is fair to assume that the three companies referred to will not 
issue more than $500,000,000 of insurance a year to all policyholders. 
What percentage of the total will be war risks? If we take into con- 
sideration the fact that it is proposed to recruit the fighting force from 
those between the ages of 19 and 25, and if we consider that the com- 
panies proposed to limit the amount of insurance which will be granted 
to such applicants, it is safe to assume that not more than $25,000,000 
will be issued on such lives. The annual additional premium — 10 per cent, 
of the face of the policies — will therefore amount to $2,500,000. Inasmuch 
as the three companies referred to paid dividends to their policyholders 
last year of over $50,000,000 and also had on hand undistributed profits 
of over $200,000,000. it would seem that the question of additional mor- 
tality would take care of itself without causing more than a ripple on 
the financial exhibit of the companies. 

Therefore, why should we not carry the principle of insurance 
one step further? If the basic idea is the distribution of the normal 
losses over the entire body of policyholders, why should we not dis- 
tribute the abnormal losses in the same manner? Surely every logical 
reason exists for requiring the policyholder who has been insured for a 
number of years and who has valuable equities in the shape of accumu- 
lated reserves requiring protection, to pay for such protection by fore- 
going his usual profits. 

Certainly the plan is worth a trial, and the wise underwriters 
managing our companies can be trusted to safeguard the interest of 
their policyholders by discountinuing the practice before it reaches the 
danger point. 

I. personally, think the danger has been over-estimated and the 
extra mortality arising from our participation in the war may safely 
be paid — for the present at least — from the profits of the large amount 
of business now on the books of the companies. 

Of course, this would require the concerted action of the com- 
panies to prevent discrimination, but surelj- in times like these the 
supervising authorities would be justified in exercising whatever pressure 
was necessary to extend benefits to those of our people who make the 
sacrifices and undergo the hardships not solely for their own protection, 
but in order that the interests of others may be conserved." 



15 



IV 

Early in April, 1917, I received a telegram from Mr. Justice 
Brandeis. asking me to come to Washington for a conference 
in connection with some important war work for the Govern- 
ment ; at the conference in his office were present Miss Julia C. 
Lathrop, Chief of the Children's Bureau of the Department of 
Labor, and Miss Josephine Goldmark, whose interest in soci- 
ological work is so well known. 

The object of the conference was to outline some plan of 
providing relief for the care of the dependents of enlisted men 
serving in our armed forces, for it was felt that it would be a 
mistake to defer the preparation of relief plans until the destitu- 
tion actually existed. It was suggested that valuable suggestions 
might he obtained from the methods followed by our neighbor — 
Canada — and I was requested to undertake this work. I agreed 
to do this if it was understood that I should receive no remunera- 
tion, and that it might be considered as my contribution to the 
war activities. 

Early in May, 1917, I proceeded to Toronto, Ottawa and 
Montreal. It is unnecessary to refer here to the results of my 
inquiry, for they have been published in the shape of a pamphlet 
by the United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau 
(Bureau Publication No. 25) "Care of Dependents of Enlisted 
Men in Canada." but I should feel that 1 would be guilty of gross 
lack of appreciation if I did not take this opportunity of acknowl- 
edging the great courtesies received at the hands of all with 
whom I was brought in contact in Canada. 

In Toronto, Sir William Mulock, K. C. M. G., and Mr. Angus 
MacMurchy, who were greatly interested in the Canadian Patri- 
otic Fund, were instrumental in enabling me to obtain a clear 
insight into the workings of that efficient institution ; in Ottawa, 
thanks to Major J. L. Todd, the President of the Board of 
Pension Commissioners, I not only obtained valuable informa- 
tion, but was introduced to Sir Herbert B. Ames, Mr. E. H. 
Scammell (Secretary of the Military Hospitals Commission) and 
all of the officers of the Assigned Pay and Separation Allowance 
Departments of the Canadian Military Establishment; Miss 
Helen R. Y. Reid, Convener of the Montreal branch of the 
Canadian Patriotic Fund, was greatly interested in the attempt 
of our Government to solve a problem, the full extent and impor- 
tance of which she realized and was of the greatest assistance 
in that city in pointing out the practical safeguards necessary 

16 



in relief work of this kind. In Toronto, Lieutenant Colonel and 
Mrs. Vincent Massey were most kind ; he was the Dean and 
Professor of English Literature. I think, at Victoria University, a 
man of wealth and erudition, who had given up his academic 
work in order to instruct soldiers in musketry and in the mech- 
anism of the rifle and the machine gun. In one of the university 
buildings Colonel Massey had constructed a most ingenious aid 
to musketry instruction. One entered the room by means of a 
trench identical in construction with those on the battle field. 
The soldier was given a rifle and instructed to observe carefully 
any moving object which appeared upon the stage situated at the 
other end of the hall ; by pressing a button the instructor was 
enabled to cause a small tin figure of a German soldier on a 
bicycle to shoot across the stage ; pressure on another button 
caused the figure of a German spy to appear for a moment in a 
church tower and similar effects were produced with other but- 
tons. The soldier was instructed in sightmg and by means of 
sub-caliber ammunition was instructed in marksmanship. 

Early in June, 1917, I received my commission as Captain in 
the Quartermaster Reserve Corps, U. S. A. ; in accordance with 
instructions I addressed a communication to the Adjutant Gen- 
eral of the Army accepting the commission and filed my Oath 
as required by regulations. At last I was an officer in the same 
Army in which my father had held a commission, but until I was 
ordered into active service from the reserve list I could be of no 
use to my country. 

Being called to Washington in connection with the report 
on my Canadian trip, I met Louis B. Wehle, of Louisville, a 
nephew of Justice Brandeis ; Mr. Wehle was assisting the Coun- 
cil of National Defense in the preparation of the "cost plus" 
contract to be used by the Construction Division of the Army 
in building the sixteen cantonments which were planned to take 
care of the National Army when called into service. He spoke 
to me of the insurance problems connected with the contract 
and at his request I accompanied him to the ofiice of the Officer 
in charge of Cantonment Construction — Colonel I. W. Littell. 
Our conversation very soon indicated to the Colonel's satisfaction 
that the insurance problems were of no mean magnitude. When 
he and his assistant. Major W. A. Dempsey, learned that I was 
commissioned but on the inactive list, they at once "put in" for 
me, which is a technical way of expressing the fact that the War 
Department was asked to detail me to the Officer in charge of 
Cantonment Construction. 

Upon my return to New York I waited notification from the 
War Department that I had been ordered into active service, but 
none came ; I read the Army orders in the daily papers religiously 
and one morning was gratified to see that the long waited order 
had been issued but no official notification came and I hardly felt 
that I was justified in going to Washington on the strength of 
a newspaper report. The next few days, however, were spent 

17 



in patting niy affairs in order ; I had arranged to accompany my 
family to Lake Placid but decided that 1 would not remain there 
in view of the probability of the receipt of my orders. It was 
well that I had planned in this way as ten minutes before we 
left the house for the train a telegram came from Walter Lipp- 
mann, Assistant to the Secretary of War, asking me whether I 
could come to Washington. I replied stating that I would be 
there in two days and remaining in Lake Placid only long 
enough to deposit the family, I took the night train, landing 
in Washington the next afternoon. 

Before calling on Walter Lipptnann. I decided to report at 
the office of Colonel Littell to learn whether any orders had 
been issued. It was fortunate I did so for as soon as I put in 
an appearance Major Dempsey handed me my orders, which for 
some reason or other had not been forwarded to me in New York. 



18 



The latter part of June, 1917, saw me hard at work on the 
staff of Colonel Littell. The problem of building sixteen canton- 
ments in sixty or ninety days, each of which would accommodate 
between 40,000 and 50,000 men, was not a simple one. 

My introduction to Army life was under the most favorable 
circumstances for I was thrown in contact with men of experi- 
ence and action. It would be impossible to describe all of them, 
but some stand out with particular prominence. 

Colonel Littell was a graduate of West Point and had seen 
service in the Phillipines. A man of the most kindly disposition, 
whose chief defect, as it appeared to me, was a disinclination to 
adopt a harsh attitude towards those who were manifestly dere- 
lict in their duty. It always seemed to me that if Colonel Littell 
had been more severe with the contractors and supply men 
engaged in the cantonment construction work, many of the 
evils which afterwards developed might have been avoided. He 
was most kind to the officers who were brought into the Army 
from civil life and I shall never forget the considerate treatment 
received at his hands. It meant much to obtain the first im- 
pression of Army life from a superior of this stamp and when in 
later days I was tempted to be annoyed at the acts of some of 
my assistants. I remembered the kindly tolerance exercised 
towards my own mistakes by Colonel Littell and I governed 
myself accordingly. Subsequently, while I was in France, he 
was made a Brigadier General ; after being relieved from his 
work in the Construction Division he was made the Secretary of 
the Old Soldiers Home in Washington. 

The first officer one met in Colonel Littell's ante-room was 
Preston Brown, a Major of the 19th infantry, a man with a most 
delightful sense of humor and a most engaging personality. He 
was a Yale graduate and his classical quotations served to 
enliven many official interviews ; for some reason, which I never 
learned, Preston Brown took a kindly interest in my progress, 
instructed me in Army procedure and saved me from many of 
the pitfalls which await those who are unfamiliar with the way 
things must be done in the well-regulated machine known as 
our Army. I made up my mind that if he had the opportunity, 
Preston Brown would rise by sheer force of his ability and 
merit. He arrived in Europe shortly after I did and made a 
most brilliant record, was promoted from rank to rank until 

19 



when the armistice was signed he was a Brigadier General in 
charge of a division and had received the Distinguished Service 
Cross. 

The Executive Oflicer is the staff officer who stands between 
his superior and the rest of the world ; he is the one who receives 
all of the complaints, interviews all visitors and attempts to save 
his Chief from the routine annoyances which inevitably are 
found in every office. Colonel Littell's executive officer was 
Captain R. C. Marshall, Jr., who entered the Army from civil 
life, took first honors at the Coast Artillery School at Fortress 
Monroe and possessed talents which peculiarly fitted him for the 
work of the Construction Division. Upon Colonel Littell's retire- 
ment, Captain Marshall (who was then a Colonel) became his 
successor, with the rank of Brigadier General. 

My immediate superior was Major' W. A. Dempsey, who, 
after graduation from college, had become a civilian clerk in 
the Army ; at the outbreak of the war he was commissioned a 
Major in the Reserve Corps and became known to man}^ of the 
civilians who afterwards entered the Army owing to the fact 
that he was lecturer and instructor for a class formed to fit men 
to enter the Quartermaster Corps. He and Major Frank H. 
Lawton were the joint authors of a book for such students. 
Throughout my entire connection with the Construction Division 
Major Dempsey lost no opportunity to assist me in every way. 

There were a number of other capable officers and civilians 
in the Division and the two months spent there were most inter- 
esting and instructive. Fortunately, I was able to fit into a 
niche as the problems involving fire insurance, workmen's com- 
pensation coverage, public liability and surety bonds were most 
intricate. The "cost plus" contract was a new departure for 
the Army and it was necessary to take cognizance of the insur- 
ance needs — a requirement which had been disregarded in pre- 
vious Government work for, as the Government never insures 
its property, no similar situation had ever arisen. Inasmuch as 
the contractor and not the Government was erecting the can- 
tonments, the injured workmen could look to him under the 
liability and compensation laws for damages ; it became necessary 
for the contractor to protect himself by taking out an insurance 
policy, the cost of which was a proper item of disbi:rsement and 
one, therefore, which the Government in the final analysis was 
required to pay. It is evident, therefore, that the Government 
had a vital interest in all of the matters pertaining to the insur- 
ance activities of the contractor and Colonel Littell entrusted 
the entire supervision of this Department to me. 

In all my dealings with the officers of the insurance com- 
panies, I attempted to impress upon them the existence of an 
emergency and to appeal to them in the name of patriotism. It 
was not an easy thing for me to understand the attitude of some 
of the insurance carriers whose sole purpose seemed to be to 

20 



obtain as high a premium as possible. There were some pleasing 
exceptions to this rule and it is interesting to note that the fire 
insurance companies met the situation in a most liberal and 
patriotic spirit. The arrangement which they made with the 
Government saved it many thousands of dollars. The question 
of the bonds which the contractors were required to furnish was 
taken up with the surety companies and the rate was cut in half. 

An Army officer is expected to accomplish 100% of the 
things he starts out to do and he can claim no special credit for 
accomplishing anything in the line of duty. 1 have never kept 
any record of the results of my strenuous interviews with com- 
pany executives but in an official memorandum filed with the 
War Department, General Littell is reported as stating that my 
eflForts were instrumental in saving over $500,000 to the Govern- 
ment in insurance premiums. 

On June 29th Colonel Littell's orderly handed me the 
following order : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE 

WASHINGTON 

June 26, 1917. 
From: The Adjutant General of the Army. 

To : Capt. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Officers 

Reserve Corps, Washington, D. C, through the 
Quartermaster General. 

Subject: Special Assignment. 

The Secretary of War directs that, in addition to your other 
duties, you take up the question of the needy who are depend- 
ent upon soldiers of the Army. 

(Signed) J. S. JONES 



Adjutant General. 



1st Ind. 



326-P, Officers (Wolfe, Samuel H.) 

O.Q. M.G., June 28, 1917— To Capt. Samuel H. Wolfe, c/o Officer 

in Charge, Cantonment Construction, 
Washington, D. C. 
Forwarded. 
By authority of the Quartermaster General. 

(Signed) Wm. H. CLOPTON, JR. 
Captain, Quartermaster Corps. 



21 



VI 

To appreciate the real meaning of this detail it should be 
stated that the Council of National Defense, which consisted of 
three or four cabinet officers, had been considering my report 
on the Canadian method of taking care of the dependents of the 
soldiers and had requested Mr. Samuel Gompers, the head of 
the Federation, to prepare the necessary bill for introduction 
in our Congress to accomplish the same purpose. Mr. Gompers 
called to his aid Judge Julian Mack, of the United States Circuit 
Court. Mr. Gompers was also Chairman of the Committee of 
Labor of the Advisory Commission of the Council of National 
Defense. It should he borne in mind that the Council consisted 
of the three or four cabinet officers referred to. while the Advis- 
ory Commission consisted of a number of prominent men, 
leaders in their own particular industries or professions who 
were of great assistance to the Government at this particular 
time. 

Immediately after receiving my orders I reported to Mr. 
Gompers and found that Major Harry Leonard had been detailed 
to act for the Navy Department in the same capacity as I was 
for the War Department. Major Leonard was a gallant officer 
in the Marine Corps, who had lost his arm in action during the 
Boxer Campaign in China, had been retired for disability, was 
practicing law in the West and at the commencement of hos- 
tilities was called into active service and placed on duty in the 
office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. His trained 
legal mind, his familiarity with matters of Navy procedure, his 
warm sympathetic feeling for the enlisted personnel and their 
dependents and his charming personalitv were of the greatest 
assistance in the preparation of the War Risk Insurance Act. 

It should not be assumed that Mr. Gompers. Judge Mack. 
Major Leonard and T were responsible alone for this work. While 
Judge Mack in his letter to Mr. Gompers. dated July 15th. very 
generously states : 

"Primarily this credit is due to Captain .S. H. Wolfe, of the 
War Department. His work performed under detail of the 
Secretary of War for the Children's Bureau of the Department 
of Labor on the separation allowances in Canada, was the 
foundation on which the article coverinp: this matter has been 
built; but more than that, his wide actuarial knowledge and 
experience and his unstinting work under detail of the Secretary 
of War, first to the Committee on Labor and then to the Treas- 
ury Department, for the purpose in co-operation with myself, of 
preparing a draft of a law covering all the subjects under con- 
sideration, has been of the utmost importance and value. 

a number of others were called into consultation and ren- 

22 



dered most valuable assistance. It is impossible to give a full 
list of them, but 1 recall that Mr. P. Tecumseh Sherman, Dr. 
L. S. Rowe, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and Mr. Sulli- 
van, a most efficient and sane labor leader, were prominent in 
this patriotic work. It is necessary, at this time, to refer to a 
very interesting matter, the true political significance of which 
I have never understood. The Secretary of the Treasury, Mr. 
McAdoo, was not a member of the Council of National Defense, 
but he decided that it would be advisable to have some form 
of insurance for the armed forces. Accordingly, he called a 
meeting of representatives of all of the insurance companies who 
could be reached by telegraph ; this meeting was held at the 
Hotel Washington on July 2nd, and all of the prominent com- 
panies sent representatives. Mr. McAdoo presided, made an 
address outlining the purposes of the gathering and called for 
an expression of views from those present. Mr. Sweet, Assist- 
ant Secretary of Commerce and Labor, read a thoroughly 
impracticable plan which had been devised for him by some- 
body, which, as I recall it now, proposed to give $4,000 of free 
insurance to each soldier. A thorough discussion revealed that 
the insurance companies of this country were not prepared to 
assume the risk of the excess mortality resulting from war 
casualties without charging additional premiums which would 
have to be based upon insufficient data and which, therefore, 
would be very imperfect guesses made sufficiently safe to pro- 
tect all of their policyholders. No blame should attach to the 
companies for this attitude. The experience of some of them in 
Canada with policies issued for the city of Toronto had shown 
the danger of attempting to issue these policies without charging 
an adequate premium. I. personally, felt that the entry of the 
United States in the war would bring it to a speedy conclusion 
and that the mortality among our soldiers Avould be very much 
less than that which had been experienced by those of England 
and France : I was therefore of the opinion that for the time 
being the companies would be amply protected by the use of 
their surplus funds for the payment of excess death losses instead 
of using them for dividend purposes. I was Avrong in my esti- 
mate of the duration of war after our entry, but had the satis- 
faction of knowing that my estimate of the additional mortality 
caused b}^ the war was approximately correct, for I think that 
all of the companies which charged additional premiums have 
returned them as they were not needed and the companies who 
made no additional charge have had no unduly unfavorable 
experience. Whether the War Risk Insurance Act. which will 
be referred to afterwards, had any effect upon this, is a matter 
of conjecture. 

I was directed by the War Department to attend Mr. 
McAdoo's meeting as its representative and being called upon 
for an expression of opinion, pointed out that imder the Federal 
Workmen's Compensation Act, a workman in the employ of 

23 



the Government who was injured during his work would receive 
compensation benefits : I was of the opinion, therefore, that 
the soldiers who were merely performing a different kind of 
service for the Government should be compensated for injuries 
arising "out of and in the course of their employment." With 
this as a basis I advocated the extension of the Workmen's 
Compensation Insurance idea to provide for the payment of 
benefits to dependents in case of death and to the soldier him- 
self in case of injury or illness received while in the service. 

After the meeting recessed (to be reconvened a few weeks 
later in Mr. Mcx\doo's office) I continued my work with Judge 
Mack and Major Leonard. At the same time Dr. Rowe was 
calling me into conferences in order to give concrete shape to 
the ideas brought out at Mr. McAdoo's conference. The danger 
of divided effort was apparent and I foresaw the difficulty which 
would arise from m}- attempting to serve the varying interests. 
I determined that the situation called for the cutting of red 
tape and although an Army officer still attached to Colonel 
Littell's office (and incidentally still continuing to perform my 
duties there in addition to my work with Judge Mack and Dr. 
Rowe) I construed the order from the Secretary of War of 
June 26th as permission to consult him -without going through 
the usual military channels. 

I suggested to Dr. Rowe that it would be well if Mr. McAdoo 
requested the Secretary of War to have Judge Mack and me 
co-operate with him (Mr. McAdoo) rather than to have separate 
reports handed in. At the same time I took the matter up with 
Walter Lippmann — who was then acting as Secretary to the 
Secretary of War — explained my embarrassment to him and 
received the followino- letter: 



WAR DEP.\RTMEXT 
Washington 



Tuly 11. 1917 

Captain S. H. Wolfe. 

Quartermaster Reserve Corps. 
Washington, D. C. 

Dear Captain Wolfe : — 

The Secretary of War asks me to say to you that it is his 
desire, and that of the Council of National Defense, that you and 
Judge Mack should co-operate with Secretary McAdoo on the 
formulation of a plan for the care of dependents of soldiers and 
sailors and the problems related thereto. 

\'ery truly yours, 

(Signed^ WALTER LIPPMAXX. 

24 



It is to be assumed that Dr. Rowe communicated with the 
Secretary of War. as suggested, for on July 13th, I received 
the following letter : 



TREASURY DEPARTMENT 
Washington 

July 13, 1917 
My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 

Some time ago the Secretary of the Treasury requested me 
to ask you to co-operate with him in the formulation of a com- 
prehensive plan of compensation and indemnity to the soldiers 
and sailors enlisted in the Army and Navy of the United States, 
and their dependents. 

The Secretary has received a letter from the Secretarj'^ of 
War reading as follows : "I have to-day requested Captain 
Wolfe and Judge Afack to co-operate with the Treasury Depart- 
ment in the formulation of a measure dealing with the questions 
of dependents of soldiers and sailors as well as insurance and 
indemnification." 

The Secretary of the Treasury is exceedingly anxious to have 
before him the first draft of a measure which will accomplish 
this purpose. In pursuance of the Secretary's wishes and at his 
direction, I beg to request j'ou and Judge Mack to prepare such 
a draft for submission to the Secretary on Monday morning 
next. 

Very sincerely yours, 

(Signed) L. S. ROWE. 

Assistant Secretary. 



It may not be amiss to outline some of the ideas which 
I submitted to Judge Mack and Major Leonard, together with 
the reasons behind them. 

In the first place I felt that the pension evil which followed 
the Civil ^\'ar was a blot upon our history. Following the 
report which I made on the Canadian situation, Mr. Wilson, the 
Secretary of Labor, asked the Secretary of W'^ar to detail me 
to take charge of the preparation of an analysis of the govern- 
mental provisions existing in the various countries for the care 
of dependents. Miss Julia C. Lathrop. Chief of the Children's 
Bureau, was most anxious for me to undertake this work and 
promised to detail a staff of assistants to help me. It must be 
apparent that my work in Colonel Littell's office and my work 
with Mr. McAdoo. Judge Mack. Mr. Gompers and Major Leon- 
ard left me but little time to do more than outline the new 
work and to pass upon the matter which was submitted by the 
investigators. I dealt only with the broad, general policies and 
it is due to the efificient work of Miss Anna Rochester and the 
corps of assistants detailed by Miss Lathrop that the report — 
published as Miscellaneous Series No. 11. U. S. Department of 
Labor, entitled "Governmental Provisions in the United States 
and Foreign Countries for Members of the Military Forces and 

25 



their Dependents" covered the subject as thoroughly as it did. 
Subsequently, the following copy of Secretary W. B. \\'ilson's 
letter was transmitted to me through official channels : 



August 11, 1917 

The Honorable Newton D. Baker. 
War Department, 

Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 

In accordance with a suggestion made by me to Captain S. H. 
Wolfe upon the completion of his report upon the care of 
dependents of enlisted men in Canada, a study has been made 
by his direction by the Children's Bureau of governmental pro- 
visions in the United States and foreign countries for members 
of the military forces and their dependents. 

I wish to express my sense of the great value of Captain 
Wolfe's services and thank you for making the detail. 

Cordially yours, 

(Signed) W. B. WILSON, 

Secretary. 



26 



VII 

The sjtudy of this report showed that the most serious 
pension drain on the Treasury came from the so-called "service 
pensions" which were given to soldiers and their dependents for 
merely serving ninety days during the Civil War, without regard 
to any injury which may have resulted from that service. It 
was apparent to me that we must get away from this idea and 
the compensation sections of the War Risk Insurance Act were 
intended to compensate the soldiers and their dependents for 
any injuries caused by their service, thus affording a scientific 
method of dealing with the subject instead of the haphazard 
way which had been followed in pension legislation. 

It was therefore decided to base the compensation benefits 
upon the pay of the injured soldier, within certain maximum 
and minimum limits. It was felt that the widow of a Major, 
for instance, had been in the habit of incurring necessary ex- 
penses upon a more extravagant scale than the widow of a 
private who had become accustomed to getting along with the 
allowance which was made to her from the private's pay. There 
is nothing in this idea which does violence to the strictest prin- 
ciples of democracy and it was embodied in the first draft which 
was submitted to Congress. In the course of the process of 
adoption by that body this idea was amended so that the com- 
pensation was based not upon the earning power — a principle 
followed out in all compensation acts — but upon a flat $25 for 
all widows, whether their husbands had been privates or Major 
Generals. It is quite apparent to me that this amendment will 
serve to defeat the very purpose of the compensation section 
of the War Risk Insurance Act for a flood of private pension 
bills will, I think, surely follow as it is not just to assume that 
the compensation paid will be sufficient to provide for the 
dependents of all ranks. 

When the subject of insurance was taken up the following 
argument was advanced : The Government attempts to com- 
pensate soldiers for the damage which results from calling them 
into service. This is the principle underlying the payment of 
family allowances and the payment of compensation in case of 
injury or disease. There is another damage, however, which 
the Government has inflicted upon the men called into service, 
viz : it has destroyed their ability to buy insurance at the 
regular rates. It becomes the duty of the Government, there- 
fore, to enable the men called into service to escape this penalty 

27 



and as it is manifestly impracticable to pay the private insurers 
the additional premium for this hazard, the Government must 
furnish insurance to the members of its armed forces, not as a 
matter of charity, but at the same rate as that charged to 
non-combatants. This was the underlying principle of the life 
insurance feature of the War Risk Act. 

Realizing the necessity for obtaining the benefit of a broad 
view of the proposition, I obtained permission from the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury to call a conference of a number of 
actuaries in Washington. Consultations were held with John 
P. Gore, Actuary of the l^rudential Insurance Company, Henry 
Moir, Actuary of the Home Life Insurance Company. Arthur 
Hunter, Actuary of the New York Life Insurance Company, 
James D. Craig, Assistant Actuary of the Metropolitan Life 
Insurance Company, and Joseph H. Woodward, then the Actuary 
of the State Insurance Fund of New York. These gentlemen 
came to Washington at their own expense, at a sacrifice of their 
vacations and during one of Washington's hottest spells. The 
proposed War Risk Act was submitted to them and we attempted 
to arrive at an estimate of the cost to the Government which 
would result from the adoption of the suggested provisions. 
The report agreed upon is a matter of record and appears in 
the Congressional hearings. It represented the best opinions 
obtainable and if the estimate of the amount of insurance which 
would be taken by our forces was an underestimate, the error 
can be adequately explained by the fact that we were sailing 
an uncharted sea and nobody could have foretold the enthusi- 
astic way in which this idea was embraced by the members of 
the armed forces. Alas, the inefficient management of the War 
Risk Insurance Bureau has resulted in the lapsing of many 
billions of insurance which should have been kept in force. 

On July 15th. the first draft of the bill was completed and 
copies sent to Mr. Gompers and to Secretary McAdoo. On 
July 18th the following letter was delivered to me : 

SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 
Washington 

July 17. 1917 
My Dear Captain Wolfe: — 

Although I am counting on your valuable co-operation in 
the further progress of the Bill in reference to military and naval 
compensation and indemnity, I want to take the earliest oppor- 
tunity to express to you my sincere appreciation for your valuable 
assistance in providing with such promptness so excellent a 
measure dealing with this subject. 

I have called a meeting of the committee of insurance men 
named recently, to be held at my office next Monday at 11 A. M., 
and sincerely hope you will find it possible to be present. 
With best wishes, I am 

Sincerely yours, 

W. G. McADOO. 
Captain S. H. Wolfe. 
Quartermaster's office, 
Evans Building, Washington, D. C. 

28 



On July 23rd the committee of insurance men which had 
been appointed at the meeting held July 2nd, met in Mr. Mc- 
Adoo's ofifice and discussed the report which had been submitted 
to them. As a general proposition it may be stated that they 
approved everything except the Article relating to the estab- 
lishment of a Government Insurance Bureau. While the idea 
was not expressed, I am of the opinion that the fear of the 
inauguration of Government insurance was predominant, but 
subsequent events have served to show how poorly prepared 
the Government was to undertake work of this kind. 

It was apparent to me that to inaugurate a system of 
family allowances, family allotments and compensation bene- 
fits without learning at first hand of the experience of France 
and England with similar problems would be the height of 
folly. When the matter was brought to the attention of Secre- 
tary McAdoo and Dr. Rowe, they were quick to grasp the 
necessity for the proposed investigation. The Secretary sent 
an official communication to the Secretary of War asking that 
I be detailed for the purpose of observing at first hand the 
problems which would confront us. 

On July 30th, the following communication was handed 
to me : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 
Office of the Chief of Staff 

July 30, 1917 
Memorandum for Captain Wolfe: — 

I have been unable to get you by telephone at the office this 
morning. There is an official communication in my office which 
the Secretary of War has directed me to confer with you about. 
Please report to me at my office as soon as you get this or con- 
venientlv can thereafter. 

WM. S. GRAVES, 
Colonel, General StaflF, Secretary. 

Colonel Graves — afterwards Major General Graves in 
charge of the Siberian Expedition — was not in particularly 
good humor. He did not approve of detailing army officers 
to assist other departments and he did not hesitate to say so 
in unmistakable language. In the files which he gave me 
was the following letter : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

Office of the Quartermaster General of the Army 

Washington 

July 27, 1917 

Memorandum for the Chief of Staff: — 
1 : Referring to telephone message received this morning, asking 
if Captain S. H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Officers Reserve Corps, 
could be spared for a considerable length of time for duty under 
the Secretary of the Treasury; you are informed that Captain 
Wolfe has become entirely familiar with the work of this 
Department and his services here are of the utmost value and 
it is my desire that he be retained as a member of this office 
and detailed temporarily with the Secretary of the Treasury 

29 



for such purpose as he may be needed and for such time as he 
may be needed, but upon completion of said duty that he be 
returned to this office. 

I. W. LITTELL, 
Colonel, Quartermaster Corps. 
In Charge of Cantonment Construction. 

I left Colonel Graves with the firm belief that Mr. McAdoo's 
request would not be granted and it was with a feeling of sur- 
prise and considerable pleasure that I received from Mr. McAdoo 
the following- copy of a communication : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 
Washington 

August 1, 1917 

The Secretary of War presents his compliments to the Hon- 
orable, the Secretary of the Treasury, and has the honor to 
acknowledge the receipt of his letter of the 23rd ult., in which 
he suggests that it would be most helpful if Captain S. Herbert 
Wolfe were detailed to prepare a report on the care of depend- 
ents of enlisted men in Great Britain and France, similar to that 
prepared for Canada, and, in addition, to make some investiga- 
tion of the insurance of enlisted men in both great Britain and 
France, and to say that there is no objection on the part of 
the War Department to Captain Wolfe performing the duty 
indicated, provided the expense involved shall be borne by the 
Treasury Department. 

For the first time it appeared to me that I would be able 
to reach the goal of every officer with whom I had come in 
contact, viz : to get across to France, where I would have a 
chance to see some active service in the fighting zone. Under 
date of August 14th. 1917, orders were issued (paragraph 22 
Special Orders No. 188 W. D. 1917) relieving me from my duties 
in Washington and directing me to report to the Secretary of 
the Treasur}^ in connection with the work previously referred 
to and directing me upon completion of the duty enjoined to 
resume my duties in the office of the officer in charge of can- 
tonment construction. ' 



30 



VIII 

It required some time to wind up the work which I had 
started in Colonel Littell's office, to report at the Army 
Medical School to get the anti-typhoid injections and vaccina- 
tion against small pox prescribed for all officers and men going 
over seas and to determine the nature of the facts which would 
be most helpful to Mr. McAdoo in the work for which I was 
sent over. 

What was probably the hardest thing for me to do through- 
out my service was before me — to tell my wife that I had been 
ordered to France. After all, women have the greatest burden 
to bear for they have none of the excitement, none of the feel- 
ing of exhilaration which comes to the man in service. The 
physical dangers to which the soldier is exposed are as nothing 
when compared with the worries and uncertainties which are 
constantly with those who are left behind. 

It will not be amiss for me to express my appreciation of 
the patriotic spirit in which my wife accepted my decision to 
enter the Army ; she shared with me my feeling that in the 
emergency which confronted us. I should do as my father had 
done before me, even though it required her to assume additional 
responsibilities. No man ever had more sympathetic co-opera- 
tion in his work than I received from her. 

It was Mr. McAdoo's wish that I should go to Canada to 
supplement the inquiry which I had previously made as to 
methods there, especially in view of the fact that my inquiries 
at the War College in \Vashington liad shown how deploral^ly 
deticient that institution was in the matter of reliable statistics 
relating to the mortality and morbidity to be expected in our 
armed forces. During my detail in Washington I had several 
conferences with Colonel MacDonald. .Secretary of the War 
College, and with its Librarian, Major (afterwards Colonel) 
J. R. M. Taylor. Colonel Taylor was a most interesting man, 
formerly Attache at Constantinople, whose knowledge of the 
literature of his profession, as well as scientific matters in 
general, made him a most valuable officer for this post. Both 
the Secretary and the Librarian requested me to communicate 
to them any facts of interest with which I might become 
acquainted during my work in Canada and abroad. 

I left Washington about the middle of August for Canada 
and as my camp at Lake Placid was only a few miles from 

31 



Montreal. I availed myself of permission to spend a few days 
there before I started my active duties. Thanks to her exquisite 
tact and patriotic feelings the duty of telling my wife of my 
departure for France was not as difficult as I had anticipated 
(the late John B. Lunger told me at luncheon a few hours 
before his death that life is made up of troubles, most of which 
never occur) and I urged her to go to Canada with me. In 
view of the fact that Montreal was so close to the camp, we 
decided to borrow an automobile to make the trip and take 
the two older children with us for the day. they to return the 
same evening. 

Following out this plan, we started in a few days and after 
showing the children some of the principal points of interest in 
Montreal I devoted a few hours to conferences with Miss Helen 
Y. R. Reid. taking up with her the most recent developments 
in the Canadian Patriotic Fund. From Montreal my wife and I 
went to Ottawa, where my principal Canadian work was to be 
done. From there I sent official reports to our Quartermaster 
General on additional pay and allowances which were then being 
granted in the Canadian Army and to Major Taylor. Librarian 
of the War College, on mortality and morbidity statistics in 
Canada ; I also sent to Major Taylor a report on the establish- 
ment of Queen Mary's Auxiliary Hospital at Roehampton. Eng- 
land, where a special study was being made of the manufacture 
of artificial limbs, together with a report on the Avork of Dr. 
Morton Seedorff. of the Hospital Militaire Benevole. Paris, who 
was making a specialty of artificial limbs composed of a mixture 
of paper and rags. 

The Canadian officers were most kind and considerate. 
They plied us with courtesies which were most welcome. For 
example, while dining at our hotel — the Chateau Laurier — a 
gentleman in civilian clothes came to our table, introduced 
himself as General Sam Hughes, formerly head of the Canadian 
Militia, and asked how he could be of service to an officer wear- 
ing the uniform of the L^nited States. L'pon learning that we had 
planned to attend the session of the Canadian Parliament that 
evening (the sessions were held in temporary headquarters. 
owing to the recent destruction by fire of the Houses of Par- 
liament) he expressed his pleasure and stated that as a member 
of the Legislature he would see that we received comfortable 
seats. We had been invited to the evening session by Sir Her- 
bert Ames, who was escorting us to seats in the visitor's gallery 
when General Hughes came up and took charge of us. The 
debate that evening was very interesting, dealing with the 
advisability of the Canadian Government acquiring the stock 
of the Canadian Northern Railway. 

I remained in Ottawa for several days, completing my work 
there, and we then returned to Lake Placid to await advices as to 
the sailing date of the ship upon which T had engaged passage — 

32 



the "Orduna." She was originally to sail on September 1st, but 
notice of the postponement of her departure until September 5th 
led me to book on the "Adriatic," which was scheduled to leave 
on September 8th, it occurring to me that I would make better 
time on the latter ship, in view of her greater speed. 

About September 5th, I left Lake Placid for New York, my 
wife insisting upon accompanying me. We spent three very 
happy days in New York and on Saturday, September 8th, went 
to the steamship pier to embark at 10 A. M. as ordered. After 
going through the various formalities rendered necessary by 
the fact that we were at war, I was told that the ship would 
not leave at noon as scheduled, but was being detained to await 
the arrival of the 101st Field Artillery, and that we would sail 
at midnight. This enabled us to lunch together, go to the 
theatre, take an early tea and instead of my wife waving adieu 
to me from the steamship pier, T bade good-bye to her at the 
Grand Central Station, when she took the 7 o'clock train for 
Lake Placid. 

I reported aboard in good season, went to bed and expected 
to wake up in the morning many miles from land, but the delay 
in the arrival of the troops held the ship until noon of the 
following day. Finally, on Sunday, September 9th, lines were 
cast off and the "Adriatic" moved out. The sensation of em- 
barking on a voyage of great adventure was a new one and 
as I looked at the receding pier, I wondered what my experiences 
would be until I returned. 



33 



IX 

We, in the United States have never really understood the 
true meaning- of war restrictions ; we have never experienced 
the hardships and the deprivations which have fallen to the lot 
of the inhabitants of the European countries. We were too far 
removed from the theatre of operations to be brought into 
intimate contact with the grim side of the conflict and it was 
not until the "Adriatic" headed for midstream that war regula- 
tions became apparent. A statement of a few of the unusual 
precautions may be of interest. 

Before the ship had cleared the shore everybody in uniform 
was ordered below so that no German spy ashore could tell how 
many troops were aboard. Whether this precaution was neces- 
sary or not, it is impossible to say, but the elaborate spy system 
with which Germany was credited certainly required the exer- 
cise of every precaution. All of the portholes and ventilating 
transoms on the ship were either screened with movable shut- 
ters or covered with opaque material and at night it was required 
that every such opening should be shuttered or screened in such 
a way that no ray of light could be seen from the outside. The 
discomfort of sleeping in a poorly ventilated room need not be 
commented upon. While we were permitted to walk on deck 
at night, the passage ways were darkened so that no light would 
escape when the doors were opened, and the striking of matches 
and smoking on the deck at night were strictly forbidden, the 
ship's officers telling us that the flare of a match could be seen 
many miles at sea and instances had been known where sub- 
marines had been enabled to torpedo a ship, the existence of 
which had been unsuspected until the flare of a match had 
revealed its presence. Life boat drills were held daily and one 
was required to keep his life preserver with him at all times 
while in the danger zone, dining room stewards having been 
instructed to serve no meals to any passenger who did not have 
his life preserver with him in the dining room. Before we left 
port the "sending" apparatus of our wireless had been sealed, this 
being a regulation of our Navy Department and the British 
Admiralty in order that no messages might be sent, thus pre- 
venting enemy craft from learning of the presence and location 
of our ship. 

Mention is made of these precautions in order that one may 
realize how constantly were we reminded of the fact that we 

34 



were embarked on no usual transatlantic voyage. To many of 
the soldiers aboard it was the first evidence of the discipline 
which must exist in armed forces and was a forerunner of the 
conditions which they would find abroad. 

Notwithstanding the unusual conditions aboard ship the 
trip was most pleasant, the result of pleasant companionship 
and the exhilaration which came from the knowledge that one 
was serving his country. 

The purser had assigned me to a table together with very 
agreeable companions. Lady Drummond, head of the Canadian 
Red Cross work in London, was most interesting. Her only 
son had been killed at the first battle of Ypres and this was 
the first time that there came to my attention a thing which 
became so noticeable throughout Europe — the entire absence 
of bitterness on the part of those whose dear ones had been 
killed. The feeling that the sacrifice had been made in order 
to advance civilization, together with the evidence of the great 
number of other people who had been similarly bereaved, seemed 
to count for the unemotional consideration of their loss. In the 
"Light of Asia" I think Matthew Arnold has developed this idea 
when Buddha offers to revive her dead infant, if the sorrowing 
mother will bring a grain of rice from any house which has 
not been touched by the hand of death (it is many years since 
I have read this, but I think it is correct). 

Two of my other table companions were Miss Isabella 
Adami and Miss Cynthia Holt. The former was a daughter 
of Colonel Adami, a Canadian officer stationed in London, to 
whom, strange to say. Major Todd in Ottawa had given me a 
letter of introduction. Miss Plolt was planning to do Red Cross 
work among the Canadian soldiers at one of the British Hos- 
pitals, either Roehampton or Brighton. 

There were three other Army officers at the table — Colonel 
Charles S. Wallace and Lieutenants Wheeler and Randolph. 
Colonel Wallace was a regular Army officer in the Signal Corps, 
who had seen service in the Phillipines and was going to Paris 
to become Chief Signal Officer, Line of Communications. He 
had charge of the elaborate net work of telegraph and telephone 
wires throughout France, and we met again in Paris, when we 
were both stationed there. The two lieutenants were fine young 
chaps who had gone through the training camps, won their 
commissions and were being sent to France as Casual officers 
to receive additional training there in the French schools which 
were being established for American officers. I did not meet 
them again but have determined to see if I can find out what 
happened to them. I shall be greatly disappointed if I do not 
learn that they have acquitted themselves with honor, for their 
training, their standards and their viewpoint of life all pointed 
in that direction. 

35 



The 101st Field Artillery — a Massachusetts organization — 
was under command of Colonel Sherburne, one of the very few 
National Guard officers who were commissioned as Generals 
for service in France. Many of the enlisted men in the different 
Batteries were Harvard students and the spirit of the entire 
regiment was admirable in every respect. Their well developed 
bodies, their youth and their happy, joyous spirit of optimism, 
seemed to be characteristic of our country, and when I had the 
opportunity of comparing our soldiers with those of France and 
England these characteristics seemed to be more marked. 

Upon learning that I was to sail on the "Adriatic," some 
of my friends in New York (A. Duncan Reid and Charles H. 
Holland, among others) sent me notes of introduction to the 
ship's Commander. Captain J. B. Ranson. Realizing the great 
responsibility, under war conditions, which rested upon the 
Commander of a ship of the size of the "Adriatic," I determined 
not to present these letters, but instead, turned them over to 
the purser, Mr. Edwards, telling him of my feeling in the matter 
and suggesting to him that when, in his opinion, we had reached 
the point in our voyage when the Commander might care to 
see me, he should send them to the Bridge. He must have 
decided to send them at once for. very much to my surprise, a 
trim little sea scout (boy scouts who are learning to become 
officers in England's Merchant Marine) presented Captain Ran- 
son's compliments to me the first day and asked me to come 
to his quarters for tea that afternoon. I accordingly went there 
to pay my respects and this was the first of several interesting 
visits which I had with this capable officer upon whose shoulders 
rested such grave responsibilities. 

From time to time in my description of the voyage I will 
refer to the other companions with whom I was brought into 
such close and personal contact, for, after all, a two weeks trip 
on the ocean under the conditions surrounding us, enabled 
people to become well acquainted. 

My detail rendered it necessary for me to keep a complete 
account of the systems and methods which were observed by me 
and extracts from the record I kept may prove of interest. The 
following are some of the notes which appear in my record of the 
trip on the "Adriatic," and they may serve to indicate the war 
atmosphere to which I have referred. 

Sunday, September 9th. 

After the Narrows were passed, we were permitted to again 
appear on deck. I doubt whether many people in New York 
realize that across the Narrows was stretched a net intended 
to prevent the passage of submarines. In the lower bay, mine 
sweepers or dredges were at work in order to guard against 
the possibility of damage from mines thrown over by any 
hostile ship. 

36 



It was a wonderfully beautiful day and although the bobbing 
of the pilot boat indicated that there was considerable swell, 
there was hardly any motion noticeable on the deck of our ship. 
At 3:30 Colonel Sherburne called all of the officers together 
(about 200) in the lounge room and gave them a manly, pleasant 
talk, preceded by a prayer from one of the Chaplains on the 
boat. It was announced that Officers' Classes were to be held 
twice a day — one at 11 and another at 3:30 — and that talks on 
various topics would be made. 

All civilians were ordered on deck, assigned to life boats 
and shown how to adjust the life preservers. As indicated 
before, the fact that we are not on a peace cruise is apparent 
on every side. No daily runs of the ship are posted. Your 
steward nonchalantly starts a conversation with you "when I 
was torpedoed the second time, etc., etc." The boat zigzags 
on her course constantly and the sea scout boys are practicing 
signaling with flags whenever they have the chance. 

The spirit among the men is wonderful : they are gay and 
sing constantly. I mentioned the fact today to Lady Drummond 
and she used this phrase which she tells me she found in a 
French book, "this is too sad a world in which to be anything 
but gay." 

After dark the ship is uncanny ; every unnecessary light is 
extinguished ; all companionways are dark. After dinner, Lady 
Drummond and I groped our way to the boat deck and saw 
the most wonderful starry night, the heavens by their bril- 
liancy seemed to make up for the darkness of the ship, which 
carried neither side lights nor the usual light at the mast head. 
Lady Drummond told me stories of her son who was killed at 
Ypres. She speaks of his death without one trace of bitterness 
— only sorrow and the determination to do everything possible 
to prevent a continuance of conditions which led to the war. 
She plans to visit Ypres to buy the ground where her boy fell 
and to erect a small hospital there. 

Monday, September 10th. 

After a restful night's sleep, I was awakened at 6 by the 
enlisted men going through their setting up drills on deck under 
the guidance of their non-coms. 

After breakfast I started my walks on the deck, having 
determined to walk as many miles a day as possible in order that 
I may keep myself in good physical condition. At 10:30 I 
attended some lectures which were being given to the medical 
officers and at 11 attended the first session of the Officers' School. 
The scheduled lecture was postponed until a black board could 
be made, but Colonel Sherburne spoke for about an hour most 
entertainingly on the attitude which an officer should adopt to 
the men under his control. 



The weather was beautiful until noon when it became foggy 
and chilly. We will change our course soon (the Captain having 
confided to me that we are due in Halifax Tuesday morning and 
will remain there until Wednesday night, picking up our con- 
voy.) I am anxious to see how closely we will keep to schedule, 
my steward having expressed the opinion that the trip would 
take fourteen days, owing to the slowness of the other boats 
in our convoy. 

This afternoon a very interesting lecture was given by 
Lieutenant Colonel Hale, of the 101st F. A., on the mathematics 
of map making for artillery fire. 

The two lieutenants at my table — Wheeler and Randolph — 
are fine chaps. They spent an hour in my cabin, today, discuss- 
ing various matters with me- There is a feeling of good com- 
radeship among the officers aboard; the wearing of the same 
uniform and a knowledge of common danger to be shared 
undoubtedly are factors in building up this feeling of friendship. 
Everyone is anxious to help everyone else and there is more 
kindness, courtesy and true gentlemanliness than I have seen 
in any similar group. 

We had a most beautiful sunset — even finer than the Lake 
Placid brand and that is admitting a good deal. The horizon 
was banked with purple clouds and the sun shining through 
them and the clear sky above them was a gorgeous sight. It 
grew very cold, too cold, in fact, to go on deck after sundown. 

Tuesday, September 11th. 

When I woke at 6 this morning we were entering the har]:)or 
of Halifax ; it was a glorious morning and the surrounding hills 
appeared beautiful, covered in green and bathed in sunlight. 
Dressing as quickly as possible I rushed on deck to watch the 
entrance. The harbor is fine and well protected ; the view of 
the city is rather disappointing, but with a port such as this 
there should be great development. Of course, it is unfair to 
judge, as nobody is allowed ashore, and while letters will be 
sent to the Halifax postoffice, they will be held there and for- 
warded only if and when (to use an insurance phrase) the 
"Adriatic" has docked in Liverpool. Coming up the bay we 
passed the war ship which is to accompany us across and some 
of the ships which are to be in our convov, among them the 
"Orduna." 

Swimming around the boat are millions of jelly fish, a novel 
sight and one which furnishes great amusement to the men. 

I was asked by Colonel Sherburne to be one of the lecturers 
at the Officers' School ; he asked me to discuss and explain the 
War Risk Insurance Act so that the officers would be in a 
position to explain its provisions to their men. The lecture 
this morning was by the Ship's First Officer — Mr. Howe — who 
described the submarine, its method of firing torpedoes, how to 

38 



watch for them and how to give the alarm. He then answered 
the many questions which were asked. It was very interesting 
and an hour and a half passed before we knew it. 

The afternoon school was omitted as the officers and men 
were assigned to life boats and drilled in the course to be 
followed in emergencies. 

Became acquainted today with Major Douglas Clapham of 
the British Army, an ordnance expert who has been stationed 
for three years at the Bethlehem Testing Grounds, Cape May, 
N. J., inspecting ammunition for the British Government. 

Spent the evening in the lounge until 9, when I called on 
Captain Ranson and stayed with him until 10. He was in com- 
mand of the "Baltic," which rescued the "Republic" when the 
latter was wrecked. He was the man who warned the "Titanic" 
to look out for ice, a warning which was disregarded with 
tragic results. After leaving him, I wrote some official reports 
for transmission to Washington in the official sack tomorrow. 

Wednesday, September 12th. 

A beautifully cool day set off the beauties of Halifax Har- 
bor and I spent the morning and early afternoon in walking 
and reading. The Captain had told me that we would sail at 
5 and promptly at that hour we Aveighed anchor, incidentally 
taking the first step in what was one of the most impressive 
sights I have ever witnessed. The "Adriatic" headed the fleet, 
followed by the "Orduna," the "Mongolia" and three other ships 
all crowded with troops : as we passed, the shores were lined 
with crowds who cheered and dipped the flags. 

Then followed a sight I never expected to witness. The 
Flagship of the British North Atlantic fleet — the large English 
battleship "Leviathan" — was crowded with bluejackets ; as we 
passed, her band played "The Star Spangled Banner," the sailors 
manned the yards shouting "three cheers for the U. S. A." and 
the United States flag was flown ; every officer and soldier 
aboard our ships stood at rigid salute ; our band struck up 
"God Save the King" and the converted cruiser "Gloucestershire" 
(which is to accompany us) joined the line and we steamed out 
of this beautiful harbor. 

When we dropped the pilot I felt as though we had really 
started on our transatlantic trip. 



39 



While in Halifax Harbor the Officers' School continued and 
I was the lecturer today, explaining the proposed pension and 
insurance bill. At the afternoon class Major Parker lectured 
on the duties of a liaison officer. This morning; I posted a notice 
on the bulletin board inviting those who had talent to meet me 
in the lounge at 4 :45 to assist in getting up a series of enter- 
tainments. Quite a number responded and in all probability we 
shall start tomorrow with the first performance. 

Thursday, September 13th. 

Thanks to the Gulf Stream we had a balmy summer day, 
which made my overcoat unnecessary. When I went on deck 
for my pre-breakfast walk, I got my first view of the formation 
of the different ships. Seven other large ships accompanied us, 
all steaming in correct formation headed by the "Gloucestershire." 

Of course, the ship is a very prolific "rumor factory"; word 
went around this morning that another German raider is loose. 
It is a novel sensation to feel that in crossing the Atlantic on 
a ship of this kind you have more tonnage within hailing distance 
than in going up the North River and it gives one a sense of 
security, but robs the trip of one of its usual advantages — 
isolation. 

Spent a busy morning in arranging for the concert, which 
is to take place Saturday. My notice brought out considerable 
talent among the civilians, the officers and enlisted men. 

The lecturer this morning was Major Augustus Trowbridge 
who gave an interesting talk on the scientific methods used in 
locating the position of guns by determining the difference in 
the time of arrival at different points of the sound waves of the 
discharges ; in civil life he is the Professor of Physics at Prince- 
ton and probal)ly one of the foremost physicists in the world. 
Another officer aboard is Major Robert W. Wood, who, when 
not in the Army, occupies a similar chair at Johns Hopkins, and 
who will lecture shortly. It is a most encouraging sign when 
men of the type of these two Professors give their services 
to the Government. 

A boat drill this afternoon took the place of the lecture. 

Friday, September 14th. 

The weather is most beautiful and the sea calm, but the 
ship's officers advise me that we shall probably run into heavier 
weather very soon. 

40 



At 10:30 I was invited to accompany the Officer of the Day 
on his rounds. He, the surgeon and one of the ship's officers 
make an inspection each day from stem to stern ; the men's 
quarters are examined, the food tasted in the kitchen and the 
prisoners in the brig^ visited. Three soldiers are confined in the 
brig at the present time, being accused of smoking on deck — 
a serious offense at present as a lighted cigar can be seen for 
three miles — and the ship's safety thereby jeopardized. 

An English Army Surgeon lectured this morning on "gass- 
ing" and. as it dealt largely with his own experience, it was 
interesting. 

After luncheon I spent some time discussing matters with 
those who are to take part in the concert tomorrow night. Mrs. 
Hinton (Katherine Goodson) a very well known English pianist, 
will play and I walked with her and her husband for some time. 

At 4, Lieutenant Van der Veer, U. S. Navy, (who is going 
to England to join the staff of Admiral Sims), Captain Seagrave 
of the British Navy and I called on Captain Ransom and had 
tea with him. 

After dinner I bundled up and walked on deck. The nights 
are wonderful. You stumble through inky blackness, through 
passage ways and finally reach the top deck. Around you is 
an oppressive envelope of darkness, the only visible thing being 
the light at the mast head of the war ship ahead. She is the 
only ship that carries this light, which serves as a guide to 
all others and when we reach the danger zone even this light 
will disappear. Gradually the eyes become accustomed to the 
night and then you distinguish the two ships on either side a 
mile away ; the other four ships are invisible. The skies are 
filled with stars and you seem alone with your God. 

Saturday, September 15th. 

Altliough the ship is rolling a great deal, I walked my 
usual two miles before breakfast and several miles afterwards. 

The morning lecture was by one of the surgeons, who told 
of the advances which surgery had made on the battle front. 

At last my French has been vindicated, after years of unap- 
preciation at home, for Colonel Sherburne asked me to take 
charge of the French classes and I called a meeting at 2 :30 
today. About fifty officers responded and as I had selected the 
instructors in advance, I had eight classes in full swing by 2:45. 
I went from one to the other, changing students around so that 
each class would be composed as far as possible of those whose 
ignorance of the French language was relatively the same. 

Sunday, September 16th. 

The concert last evening was a great success, the enlisted 
men particularly doing wonderfully well. The collection 
amounted to $375, which I think was surprisingly good. 

41 



Today there is quite a swell and the boat is pitching con- 
siderably, but when you look at the behavior of the other boats 
you realize how steady is the "Adriatic." 

At 10:30 divine services were held and I attended. At noon 
the Captain sent for me to pay him a visit and an interesting 
hour was spent in his quarters. The impression he leaves with 
you is that he is a most careful and resourceful man. 

My walking companions today were Captain O'Keefe, from 
Massachusetts. Lieutenant Charles Lawrence, who was Oskin- 
son's bunk mate at Plattsburg, and Lieutenant Van der Veer, 
of the Navy. 

At 3, I attended my French class and at 5, Miss Adami, Mrs. 
Copley Hewitt (a major in the Women's Auxiliary Motor Corps). 
Lieutenant Wheeler and I played deck tennis until 6:15, a very 
invigorating exercise and one rendered more interesting by the 
fact that it was beginning to blow very hard ; as the equinoxial 
storms are due I should not be surprised if we ran into some 
very heavy weather. 

Monday, September 17th. 

Another beautiful day — the threatened storm did not appear 
and the sea was as calm as a lake. Colonel Sherburne was my 
walking companion this morning. 

The morning lecture was by Major Adams, the Surgeon of 
the 101st F. A., who spoke on personal hygiene. Read until 
lunch time, then a French lesson and in the afternoon a walk 
with Sir Gilbert Parker and several games of deck tennis until 
dinner time. 

Our fleet went through a number of maneuvers this after- 
noon and it was rumored that we would meet our escort tonight, 
although I doubt it. 

As we are approaching the danger zone I slept fully dressed 
last night in order to get into practice. My suit case is packed 
with my papers, the life belt is ready to slip on and I feel that 
I could leave my room fully equipped with papers, pistol, field 
glasses and two overcoats in one minute. Sleeping in shoes and 
puttees is not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it 
did not interfere very much with my sleep. 

Tuesday, September 18th. 

Nothing very unusual to record for today. In the morning 
Colonel Sherburne lectured on trench warfare and after my 
French lesson in the afternoon I called on Captain Ranson. who 
told me that he expected to pick up the destroyers on Thursday 
at 5. That will be the event of the trip. 

In the evening the enlisted men of Battery A, 101st F. A., 
gave a minstrel show, which was a great success. The Battery 
comes from Boston and is composed principally of Harvard 

42 



students, who think they can get their commissions quicker by 
going to France as enhsted men than by going to Plattsburg. 
The amount of talent is remarkable. 

While playing deck tennis in the afternoon a large ship 
passed bound westward, and then we saw a beautiful sight. The 
sun was shining, but it was evidently raining near us, for two 
brilliant rainbows appeared in the sky — one dead ahead and 
the other to starboard. 

Wednesday, September 19th. 

Raining all day — the first bad one we have had — the start 
of the equinoxial "storms probably. Shortly after breakfast 
three large ships passed us, the "Justitia," which we are told 
is half again as large as our ship, the "Megantic" and one other. 

Major Wood lectured very interestingly this morning on 
various scientific matters connected with the war and I followed 
with an explanation of the English currency — having borrowed 
from the Purser for my talk a sample of every coin and bill 
used in England. 

We are entering the danger zone tonight and it was an- 
nounced that beginning with tomorrow no passenger would be 
allowed in the lounge or in the dining room without his life belt. 

Thursday, September 20th. 

Was awakened by an early morning boat drill (5 A. M.). 
The lecturer this morning was Major Clapham, who spoke most 
entertainingly on the method of firing large guns. 

The enlisted men are going to hold their games on deck 
today under the guidance of the Chaplain, who is a trump and 
reminds me of one of Kipling's Chaplains. At his request I 
acted as one of the judges of the games, which were very good 
sport, winding up with a very bloody boxing match. 

Of course, the excitement of the day was the arrival of the 
torpedo boat destroyers. Promptly at 5 P. M., the little hornets 
appeared — eight of them — and circled around the ship, their 
crews and our soldiers exchanging cheers. It was a wonderful 
sight and a still more wonderful accomplishment to think that 
on this wide expanse of ocean, the destroyers and our convoy 
were able to meet at the exact minute calculated, surely a 
triumph for science. 

It is rumored that we are to go to the north of Ireland 
and pass the Giant's Causeway. At this rate we ought to land 
in Liverpool Saturday. 

Friday, September 21st. 

It was pleasant to look out this morning and see the 
destroyers darting about in all directions ; it gave an added 
feeling of security, although we realize that we are now in 
the real danger zone as our ship is zigzagging around in furious 
fashion. 

43 



One never tires watching the sixteen ships go through their 
various formations. Suddenly three or four small signal flags 
are displayed from the Flag Ship and the zigzagging commences. 
The object of these changes in formation is to interfere with 
the plans of any submarine, which must submerge before firing 
the torpedo and it is assumed that constant changes in formation 
will prevent any successful target work by the submarine's 
gunner. 

After dinner this evening a pleasant surprise awaited us 
for a notice was posted on the bulletin board asking passengers 
to have their state room baggage ready for removal by 2 P. M. 
tomorrow, Saturday. Can this mean that we are to land then? 
It is too good to be true. 

Saturday, September 22nd. 

I was right. It was too good to be true, for we are not 
to be permitted to disembark until Sunday morning. 

Rose before 5 :30 this morning in order to be on deck to 
see the sunrise and get the first glimpse of land. It was rather 
rough during the night and when I reached the top deck we 
were still rolling heavily. We were taking the northern route, 
passing between Scotland and Ireland instead of to the south 
of Ireland as ships do in peace times. My first view of Scotland 
was through the mist, but it looked mighty good to me, although 
I realized that the most dangerous part of our journey is still 
to come. During the course of the morning the Irish coast came 
into view, with its wonderfully cultivated fields. 

In the afternoon four of the destroyers dropped off and 
soon four of our ships fell away, the supposition being that they 
went to some port in Scotland, 

Sunday, September 23rd. 

We anchored off the Bar last night at 10 and remained there 
until four this morning, when we slowly steamed up the river. 
I rose at 5 :30 and went on deck to watch the docking. At 9 the 
English oflicers came on board to examine our passports and 
satisfy themselves that we were fit to enter the country. As 
an Army officer I was given the preference and in consequence 
was enabled to collect my baggage, have it passed by the cus- 
tom's officer, cross Liverpool to the railroad station and get the 
12:50 train for London. 

Lieutenant Barney Flood, Adjutant General's Department 
(whom I knew when he was a Police Sergeant in New York 
City attached to the District Attorney's office) went with me 
and while waiting for the train to start. Captain Benjamin Sutro 
Oppenheimer came along the platform. He had travelled on 
the "St. Paul.*' which docked today and was bound for a London 
Hospital, where they are making a specialty of heart cases 
(Captain — afterwards Lieutenant Colonel — Oppenheimer did 
remarkable work in his specialty as did many of the other 
medical officers from the States). 

44 



When London was reached we received our first evidence 
of the changed conditions, for it was almost impossible to get 
either a porter or a taxi. Through the good offices of a police- 
man who was patronizingly anxious to do anything for a "Colo- 
nial American Officer" (as he called me) I finally reached my 
hotel. 

1 reached London on September 23rd and stayed until 
October 7th and it was my good fortune to have many inter- 
esting experiences during that time. My special diplomatic 
passport from the Secretary of State, the fact that I was a 
commissioned officer in the United States Army, the great 
assistance given by our Ambassador, Dr. Page, and the innate 
courtesy and kindliness of British Army and Navy Officers, all 
combined to give me an unusual opportunity to obtain the infor- 
mation for which I was ordered abroad. Undoubtedly, part of 
my warm welcome can be ascribed to the fact that the number 
of our Army officers who were in England was comparatively 
small during these early days of our entrance into the war. 



45 



XI 

I landed at my hotel Sunday evening and determined to 
take a walk before dinner. London presented a peculiar appear- 
ance. The streets were in semi-darkness. Search lights pierced 
the sky in every direction, searching for Zeppelins. No lights 
are visible from the windows for you are required to draw 
heavy curtains over them to prevent any light escaping. The 
globes of the street lamps are painted dark blue and have screens 
on top to prevent any rays of light shooting upward. The 
resulting darkness was in marked contrast to the illumination 
on Broadway the last night of my stay in New York. 

The streets were crowded with people and a row of ambu- 
lances containing wounded soldiers passed down the Strand 
from Charing Cross Station ; they were an ugly and grim 
reminder of my approach to the fighting zone. 

In the darkness of the Strand I bumped into a man in 
uniform ; we both started to apologize and then at the same 
time recognized one another. He was Major Stoddard, formerly 
Deputy Superintendent of Insurance of New York, who, although 
still an officer of the New York National Guard, was in England 
and France making a special study for the Government of air 
defense methods. He was subsequently commissioned in our 
Army and became an authority on this particular work. 

On Monday I visited the Embassy and paid an official visit 
of courtesy to our Military Attache, General Lassiter, who 
arranged for my visit to the diflFerent departments of the War 
Office necessary in the investigation which 1 was about to make. 
I had determined first to look into the Separation Allowance 
Department of the British Army and the General arranged for 
a conference with Mr. J. [. Beard in charge of that work. 

Mr. Beard's office was in the National Portrait Gallery, 
St. Martin's Place, right oflF Trafalgar Square. It was strange 
to see this building, formerly the home of beautiful paintings, 
given up to grim business, filled with a large number of clerks, 
mostly girls, and nothing but hustle and bustle where formerly 
all was (Hgnified silence. Most of the valuable paintings had 
been removed or protected to guard against possible damage 
from air raids. 

From Mr. Beard's office I called on Mr. T. M. E. Armstrong, 
General Manager of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corpora- 
tion, who was surprised to see me and whose assistance I sought 
in obtaining a stenographer who could accompany me to the 

46 



various offices and take down the notes which I would dictate 
from time to time (my Canadian experience had shown me that 
it was advisable to dictate notes on the ground, rather than to 
make memoranda and dictate a report after the visit was com- 
pleted.) This was not an easy thing to do for the supply of 
stenographers was very limited as so many of them had gone 
into service. 

I declined a dinner invitation as I wanted to study in the 
evening and dined alone at the hotel. The head waiter gave 
me the "Menu for Officers' Dinner" and informed me that the 
Army Regulations provided that no officer may spend more than 
;!^ 0:3:6 for lunch and ^0:5:6 for dinner and that he presumed 
I was entitled to the same privileges as a British officer. I 
agreed with him and found the dinner ample and delicious, 
soup, fish, roast lamb, salad and dessert and one roll, so you 
see it is clear that no officer need starve ; in fact, there doesn't 
seem to be a scarcity of anything hut sugar, which is served 
in a tiny yellow envelope — about a teaspoonful — and I have 
seen no lump sugar since I landed. 

After diimer I was sitting with some English officers in 
the lounge when an air raid took place — the first time I have 
heard the soimd of a gun fired by an enemy. There was not 
much excitement and in order to see what a Zeppelin looked 
like I walked out of the hotel during the firing, but was warned 
by a policeman that it was contrary to the rules to permit people 
on the street. I expressed a willingness to obey the rules and 
regulations but urged that as an army officer they did not apply 
to me and he agreed to allow me to remain. He was evidently 
a fatalist for he said "you might as well stay for if your number 
ain't on the 'Un bomb you wont be 'it." It was very interesting 
to see the play of the search lights and to hear the firing of 
guns. A bomb fell comparatively near us, along side of the 
Ritz Hotel, and dug quite a hole in Green Park. The shrapnel 
from the British anti-aircraft guns fell around continuously 
and it seemed to me that people in the streets would be more 
in danger from them than from the occasional bomb which was 
fired. A number of people were killed on tlie streets and one 
of our medical officers — a doctor from Albany, New York — 
received a shrapnel wound in the arm. 

During the afternon I had a conference with Mr. Lloyd, at 
the Ministry of Munitions, and Mr. Chance, the United States 
Treasury Agent, after w^hich I spent an hour at the Authors' 
Club — an organization to which I had belonged for many years. 

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of a most instructive 
two hours with Sir Mathew Nathan, Secretary to the Ministry 
of Pensions. Sir Mathew has occupied a number of important 
administrative positions. He entered the Royal Engineers as 
Captain, served gallantly in the Nile Expedition and received 
his promotions as Major and Lieutenant Colonel. He also served 

47 



as Governor of the Gold Coast, of Hong Kong and of Natal. 
Before going to the Ministry of Pensions he served as Under- 
Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. 

Sir Mathew and his assistant, Mr. Sanger, were most kind 
in arranging for interviews with the various departmental heads 
and my visit to the different offices in which the branches of the 
Ministry of Pensions are located, furnished me with much valu- 
able information. 

In the afternoon I was received by our Ambassador, Dr. 
Page, who had been absent from the city. He was most cordial, 
seemed greatly interested in my work and asked me to take tea 
with Mrs. Page and him later in the afternoon — a delight- 
ful experience. Embassies, I think, by a legal fiction are sup- 
posed to be on the soil of the country represented by the 
Ambassador and Mrs. Page succeeded in making one feel as 
though he were back in his own country, being assisted in this 
laudable work by such accessories as hot tea biscuits and lump 
sugar. Our Minister at Berne, Mr. Pleasant Stovell, was also 
a guest and as he was on his way to the United States I gave 
him a message to be delivered to my wife, which, unfortunately, 
never reached its destination. 

Before I left the United States, Dr. Rowe, Assistant Secre- 
tary of the Treasury, had asked me to obtain certain information 
relative to the war measures which the British Treasury Depart- 
ment had adopted and I was fortunate enough to be brought in 
touch with Mr. Niemyer of the Treasury Department, who 
promised to get the publications which Dr. Rowe wanted, a 
promise which he most promptly and efficiently filled. 

The entire next day — Thursday — was spent in the various 
departments of the Ministry of Pensions. Sir Mathew's office 
itself is located in Westminster House, Millbank, near the 
Houses of Parliament and the Navy Award Department is in 
the same building. From there I went to Chelsea Hospital, 
where the army awards are made. This was in a distant part 
of the city and it was the first time that I had ever visited 
this very interesting institution, founded for old and invalid 
soldiers. My next stopping place was the King Edward Horse 
Guards barracks, which had been converted into an office for 
the handling of appeals and from there I went to the Tate 
Gallery, where the pensions to widows and dependents are 
looked after. The appearance of the Tate Gallery had changed 
so completely from the time when I visited it before in 1911 
that it would have been difficult to recognize it as the same place. 
Most of the collections had been moved and the place was filled 
with desks and files. We were taken from here to Baker Street 
(a shrine for all who worship the wonderful doings of Sherlock 
Holmes), where the pension payment warrants were issued, and 
then to St. Marylebone Town Hall, where still another part of 
the paying branch is located. It will be seen, therefore, that 

48 



there were six different offices in widely separated districts of 
London — a most inefficient arrangement, which was the subject 
of a special recommendation by me to Mr. McAdoo in the hope 
that he would prevent a similar situation in Washington — a 
vain hope, alas. 

In the evening I had the pleasure of dining with Mr. Hugh 
Lewis and his family. One of his sons had been killed while 
flying, another son, Captain Gwilym Hugh Lewis, D. F. C, was 
an officer in the Royal Air Forces, and Mr. Lewis himself has a 
Royal Aero Club Pilot Certificate, a distinction which he shared 
with few civilians of his generation, for while my remarks must 
not be construed as implying that he is old or even an elderly 
man, it is a well recognized fact that it is dangerous for men of 
over thirty to attempt air work and, in fact, many instructors 
will not take men beyond that age on any of their flights. His 
keen desire to keep abreast of the times, his wish to share with 
his boys the excitement of the work and his keen interest in 
scientific matters, led Mr. Hugh Lewis to undergo this training. 
He and his son subsequently wrote a pioneer book "Aviation and 
Insurance." 

My concluding work with the Minister of Pensions took 
me to a most delightful office — that of the Special Liability 
Department in Abbey Gardens. 

Mr. Lorenzo Chance, Special Agent of the Treasury 
Department, invited me to be his guest at the luncheon of the 
American Luncheon Club — an organization consisting of the 
Americans residing in London who adopt this means of becoming 
acquainted with one another, maintaining home ties and hearing 
discussions on topics of the day, usually by an Englishman. On 
this particular day, Friday, September 28t'h, Lord Milner spoke, 
dealing particularly with the new ties which bound England and 
the United States together. Our Ambassador presided and 
noticing me at one of the nearby tables, beckoned to me at the 
conclusion of the speaking and presented me to Lord Milner, 
explaining in very pleasant terms the nature of my mission. In 
the afternoon I paid some formal visits to Major Rethers, the 
representative of the Quartermaster General in London, and 
Captain McDougal, our naval Attache ; upon my return to my 
quarters later in the afternoon I had the pleasure of a visit from 
Captain B. S. Oppenheimer and Lieutenant Wilson, of our 
Medical Reserve Corps. 

Although my time was so limited and I had so much to 
accomplish, I nevertheless was hospitably entertained by a num- 
ber of people, both Englishmen and Americans ; in fact, I was 
compelled to decline many invitations, lest they should interfere 
with my duties. Mr. S. G. Warner, Actuary of the Law Union 
and Rock Insurance Company, after entertaining me at his club 
at luncheon, took me to Staple Inn, the home of the Institute of 
Actuaries, of which he was then the President. Mrs. Lewisohn, 

49 



the mother of Dr. Richard Lewisohn (who had written to her 
that I was coming) was more than kind to me and by her cour- 
tesy and tact reheved me of any embarrassment which 1 might 
have felt at being the recipient of so many acts of kindness and 
gifts at her hands. Mr. and Mrs. Lionel Harris — related to my 
brother Lee by marriage — were most attentive and 1 recall with 
particular pleasure dining with them, the other guests being 
Mrs. Harris' sister, Miss Nelson, Lt. Colonel and Mrs. Alinson 
and Dr. and Mrs. Playfair. Dr. Playfair is a nephew, I think, of 
the famous obstetrician and impressed me as being an example 
of the ideal physician — one who knew how to combine scientific 
training with the knowledge of the psychology of human nature, 
a combination not common in these days. An amusing incident 
occurred at the dinner, for in the midst of it the air raid alarm 
was sounded and our host, who was a special constable, had to 
rush off to his station at Buckingham Palace, presumably to 
guard the royal family. It was like a scene from a Shaw play. 

On Saturday afternoon Mr. T. M. E. Armstrong called for 
me and we motored to his home, Lunchwood, Limpsfield, Surrey, 
a beautiful English country place. My respect for Mr. Arm- 
strong's influence with the authorities went up several pegs, for 
the prohibition against the use of pleasure vehicles and the 
restrictions placed upon the possession of petrol (or gasoline 
as we term it) were very stringent. One saw almost no private 
cars in London, except those that were fitted with huge reser- 
voirs to hold illuminating gas, which some of the engines were 
able to use instead of petrol. These huge bags on the roof of the 
car gave it a grotesque appearance which somewhat reminded 
me of an Italian woman moving along with a feather bed bal- 
anced on her head. 

In the afternoon we took a long stroll over the Commons 
and I had my first introduction to the English countryside in 
this section. ' It is beautiful and the regret at my inability to 
move that gorgeous country to within an hour of New York 
was intensified when I learned how reasonable were the rentals 
as compared with the charges made in my country. 

At dinner we were joined by Mrs. Armstrong, her parents, 
Mr. and Mrs. Young, and her sister. Miss Nora Young, delightful 
Irish people, who did everything possible to make me forget that 
I was with strangers. At the conclusion of the dinner the 
Archies (slang for anti-aircraft guns) started a furious fusilade 
and we rushed out to see if any of the "Zeps" were visible. We 
could hear the purr of the engines distinrtly and see some of the 
lights, but were driven indoors by the shrapnel which was falling 
all aroimd us. 

It seemed hard to realize that it was only three weeks 
since I had bade good-bye to mv wife in New York — so much had 
happened in the interval. On September 27th T had received my 

50 



first letter from Lake Placid dated September 10th, which was 
not a bad record in war times. 

The next day, Sunday, September 30th, we all walked to a 
beautiful country church in the yard of which there is a yew 
tree over two thousand years old. The services were very inter- 
esting and as a special compliment to me the minister (who had 
been informed by Mr. Armstrong of my coming) quoted Bret 
Harte in his sermon ; I expressed to him after the services my 
appreciation, not only of the compliment, but also of his versa- 
tility. 

Before I left London I had left my telegraph and telephone 
address with one of the Assistant Secretaries at the Embassy. 
Upon our return from church I was called on the long distance 
telephone and the following cable from Secretary McAdoo was 
read to me : 

"For Captain S. H. Wolfe: 

Early passage insurance bill assured. If passed deem it most 
important that you organize military and naval insurance with 
the rank of Commissioner. We all realize the personal sacrifice 
which this will involve but feel that the great patriotic service 
to the country will fully justify such sacrifice. Hope that you 
will respond to this emergency. All your friends here concur 
with me with reference to importance of having you organize this 
division. Acceptance will not involve necessity of permanent 
tenure. Not necessary for you to sail immediately. Will inform 
as soon as bill passed." 

I considered the matter and after discussing it with Mr. 
Armstrong (who did not hesitate to express his wonderment at 
my temerity in refusing to comply with the orders of our 
"Chancellor of the Exchequer," as he called him) I decided to 
send the following cable reply : 

"I cannot possibly accept the Commissionership but I am 
willing to be a tem.porary Director if you think I should organize 
branch. I do not want any public office and I should assume 
the position of Director at considerable sacrifice to my plans 
which seem just as important for patriotic service along present 
lines. All my investigations here show the absolute necessity 
of my acting in that capacity, but experience justifies my refusal 
of the Commissionership, and I therefore request that you do not 
urge it upon me." 

In the afternoon my host and I took a ten mile walk over 
the beautiful hills in the neighborhood of Limpsfield, in the 
course of which we visited one of the British encampments 
devoted to musketry training. After tea came the usual air 
raid and by this time I was so used to them that they aroused 
very little curiosity. 



51 



XII 

The next morning we took the train to London and at the 
Embassy 1 found two letters from home — one dated September 
13th and the other the 18th ; 1 had a long talk with Major 
Rethers about Quartermaster matters and arranged for my 
passage to France the following week. 

While at the Authors' Club one afternoon, the Honorable 
Secretary, Mr. Algernon Rose, upon learning that I was a 
Mason asked whether I would like to attend a meeting of an 
English Lodge. When I answered in the affirmative he expressed 
regret that Authors' Lodge (composed exclusively of members 
of the Authors' Club) would not hold a meeting for some time, 
but promised to arrange for my attendance at a meeting of some 
other Lodge. In the course of a few days a very formal invita- 
tion — in French — arrived from the Master and Wardens of 
L'Entente Cordiale Lodge No. 3796 (under the jurisdiction of 
the Grand Lodge of Great Britain, but working in French) to 
attend a meeting on Monday, October 1st, at 4 P. M. 

Lodges in England usually meet at that hour and after the 
work of the Lodge has been performed a rather elaborate 
dinner takes place ; in consequence, one does not visit an English 
Lodge without being asked, for that would be the equivalent of 
inviting oneself to dinner, and therefore, there is not the amount 
of lodge visiting to which one is accustomed in the United States. 

Promptly at 4 I went to the Cafe Royal in Regent Street 
and was enthusiastically received. I was the first American 
officer who had ever attended the Lodge and I found the work 
most interesting as it differed in many respects from the First 
Degree as followed in my jurisdiction. 

The Worshipful Master, H. Le Forestier, was connected 
with the French Intelligence Department, I believe, and there 
were a number of English and Canadian officers present, among 
them Colonel Raikes and Lt. Colonel D. McClean. In the midst 
of the work occurred one of the heaviest air raids to which 
London had been treated, but it caused no interference with the 
orderly procedure ; in fact, the impression that these air raids 
left with me was that if they were intended to terrorize the 
English people, they failed in their purpose, as the only evidence 
of alarm was noticed in those portions of the city given over to 
foreign born residents. 

The next day. Tuesday, was spent at the War Office going 
over the methods followed in paying officers and enlisted men. 
The officials were most cordial in their reception and the Colonel 

52 



who had me in charge took me personally to the chief of the 
air service in the Hotel Cecil (which had been commandeered 
for that service) who gave me a pass to go up in the "balloons" 
which were very active at this time. The informality of the pass 
is so characteristic of the delightful relationship which I found 
existed between the average British officer and his subordinate 
that I repeat it : 

Dear Boville : 

"The bearer, Captain S. H. Wolfe, U. S. Army, insists on 
going up in a balloon. Will you, like a good chap, grant him 
a free or fixed ride accordingly?" 

The only other event of interest of this date was that the 
first daylight air raid, since my arrival, took place. 

Wednesday, October 3rd, I started dictating my report and 
worked on it all morning. After luncheon in the Directors' room 
of the Ocean Accident and Guarantee Corporation, I went to the 
Embassy. On the way I met our new Military Attache Colonel 
Slocum and called on Commander Tobey, one of our Naval 
representatives, who arranged for an interview at 4 o'clock 
with Admiral Tophill, Fourth Sea Lord of the Admiralty. The 
Admiral was very kind and went with me to Sir Alfred Eyles, 
the Accountant General of the Navy, who was equally cordial 
and arranged with his subordinates to get all of the information 
and the forms which I needed. 

During the next days I completed my report, which was 
forwarded to Washington, called on Sir Montague Allen, the 
Canadian Pension Commissioner resident in London, and at- 
tended a luncheon given in my honor at Connaught Rooms by a 
number of Masons with whom I had become acquainted at the 
Lodge. On Friday, October 5th, I paid my farewell visit to the 
Ambassador and in the afternoon was invited to take tea with 
Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Two very pleasant hours were spent 
with these delightful people who had given so much attention to 
the development of Trade Unionism in England. Mr. Webb is a 
noted English publicist, one of those who established the London 
School of Economics and Political Science and co-author with 
Beatrice Webb of "Industrial Democracy." Their house is 
delightfully located near the Tate Gallery, overlooking the river 
with its ever changing panorama, so interesting to the visiting 
American. 

Saturday morning I breakfasted with H. G. Wells — a most 
interesting and charming host. He surprised me by his intimate 
knowledge of modern war methods and the developments whi^h 
had taken place in the scientific world. One did not expect to 
find this in a literary genius. Farewell visits to the War Office 
and the Admiralty took the rest of the day, which concluded 
with dinner at Claridges with Mrs. Porges, a kinswoman of my 
wife, the other guests being Mr. Reed, the American Vice Coun- 
sel, and Dr. Oscar Bernhard, a Captain in the Swiss Army, who 

53 



had been selected by the English Government to pass on the 
physical condition of the German prisoners. 

Sunday, October 7th — just two weeks after I landed in 
England — in compliance with instructions from the British War 
Office, I proceeded to Charing Cross Station, where I took the 
"Staff Special" for Folkestone ; in the Pullman (they do have 
Pullmans on this train, but they are entirely different from those 
to which we are accustomed in America) I became acquainted 
with a number of English officers, among them Major W. Ver- 
non Hume of the South Lancashire Regiment, and then attached 
to the General Staff. When I reached Folkestone I reported as 
directed to the A. M. O. L. (the English throughout the war 
were great believers in the use of initials and it took me some 
time to find out that I was to report to the Assistant Military 
Landing Officer when I reached Folkestone) and expected to take 
the five o'clock boat for Boulogne, but was informed by that 
officer that owing to stormy weather no boat would leave until 
the next morning at 9. Accommodations, however, had been 
reserved for me at the Royal Pavilion Hotel, where I was 
directed to spend the night. Major Hume had preceded me 
and arranged that I would have the rate which had been fixed 
for English Officers— ;^0 : 10:6 for dinner and lodging — and I 
spent a very pleasant evening after an invigorating walk along 
the bluffs on the water front. 

Early on Monday, October 8th, after passing a very com- 
fortable night at the hotel, I boarded the boat punctually at 9. 
We remained moored to the dock until 10, when we were 
told that the stormy weather would again delay the departure 
and we were instructed to report back at 4 o'clock. I took 
this opportunity to walk around Folkestone, which is a quaint 
village with quite a French tone. At 3 an uncomfortable rain 
storm broke over the town and I was drenched getting to the 
boat, which to everyone's surprise did not leave until 4:50. The 
Purser had received instructions to reserve a cabin for me. for 
which I was very grateful and I took in a number of British 
officers as my guests, for the boat was greatly overcrowded due 
to the delayed trips. The Purser told me confidentially that the 
delays were not due to stormy weather but to the fact that a 
number of floating German mines had been found in the channel 
and it was deemed unsafe for Iwats to go across until the waters 
had been thoroughly dragged. 

Thanks to the very careful methods employed, millions of 
troops had been transported across the Channel with no loss 
of life. Our boat was not only preceded by two torpedo boat 
destroyers, but two aeroplanes hovered overhead and circled in 
advance of the boats, aviators being able to detect su1")marines 
many feet below the surface. 

The crossing was very, very rough and although I was not 
ill I was mighty glad to see the lights of Boulogne. The Purser 
escorted me to the smoking room and arranged for the French 

54 



landing- officials to receive me very early ; my diplomatic pass- 
port passed me through with no delay. At the foot of the gang 
plank an English officer, Colonel Gage, stepped up, called me by 
name (there were very few American officers coming from 
England at this time) and told me that he had been instructed 
by the War Office to look after me. He took me in his car to 
the French Military Authorities, who were very kind and con- 
siderate, issued transportation warrants immediately and detailed 
an orderly to see that I was properly fixed. Colonel Gage 
invited me to be his guest at a dinner that evening which he 
stated they were giving to one of our American Judges — Judge 
Mayer — but as I wanted to take the night train for Paris I 
declined (I found out two years afterwards that the recipient 
of the dinner was not one of our Federal Judges, but someone 
who was called, or called himself "Judge Mayer," who was not 
a lawyer and who I think was engaged in selling horses to the 
French Government.) 

Colonel Gage's chaufiFeur, after taking me to the hotel, where 
I dined, managed to find my field chest and luggage (how he suc- 
ceeded in doing so remains a mystery to me to this day) and 
took me to the station, where the French orderly who had been 
assigned to me took complete charge of me, registering my 
baggage and finally placing me in a railroad carriage in which 
there were two other officers, Brigadier General Sir John Camp- 
bell and his Aide. 

I think I can do nothing better at this time than to leave a 
permanent record of my appreciation of the treatment accorded 
me by reproducing letters which passed between Commander 
Tobey and myself : 

U. S. Naval Forces Operating in European Waters 
U. S. S. Melville, Flag Ship 

30 Grosvenor Gardens, 
London, S. W. 1, 
12 October, 1917. 
My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 

I have just received your letter of the 9th, October, announc- 
ing your safe arrival in Paris and expressing your appreciation 
of the courtesy of the British officers who assisted you en route 
and I am particularly pleased at the kind things you have said 
of the small service I am glad I was in a position to render you. 
Believing that such action would meet with your approval, 
I have taken the liberty of quoting an extract from your letter 
to Brigadier General Osborne, Assistant Director of Movement 
of the British War Office, a copy of which I am enclosing for 
your attention. 

Hoping that you will find your tour of duty in France a most 
agreeable one and that you will emerge safely at the end thereof, 
I remain, with best wishes 

Yours very truly. 

E. C. Tobey, 
Aide for Materiel, Supplies and Repairs. 
Captain S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., 
Hotel Majestic, 
Avenue Kleber. 

Place de' TEtoile, Paris. 

55 



The enclosure was as follows : 

12 October, 1917 
My Dear General Osborn : — 

It gives me pleasure to quote for your information, as I 
am sure that it will be of interest to you, the following extract 
from a personal letter which I have just received from Captain 
S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., who has just arrived in Paris after 
a journey from London: 

"My arrival in Paris this morning completed a journey 
for the comfort of which I am indebted to you. At every 
point the British ofiFicers were most kind, and I wish there 
were some way in which I could acknowledge the great cour- 
tesy of Colonel Gage, who met me as I disembarked at 
Boulogne. He went out of his way to be of assistance to 
me — treatment which meant much to one arriving in dark- 
ness, in a drenching rain storm after a most tempestuous 
trip, and speaking the language but imperfectly. 

"If you consider such action appropriate, I am sure that 
Captain Wolfe will be greatly pleased if you could convey 
to Colonel Gage some expression of his appreciation of the 
treatment accorded him." 

Yours very sincerely, 

E. C. Tobey, 
Aide for Materiel, Supplies and Repairs. 
Brigadier General Osborn, 
Assistant Director of Movement, 
War Office. 

Our train left at 9:10 and thanks to some mysterious placard 
which the French orderly and the station master had pasted on 
the windows of our carriage, we were not disturbed. As intend- 
ing passengers after one glance at the placard, fled, I suspect 
that we were labeled either as dangerous lunatics or as small- 
pox patients. We are able to stretch out comfortably on the 
seats and at 2 A. M. the General and his aide left at Amiens, 
from which point they motored to Albert, the headquarters of 
the Third British Army, which place I subsequently visited when 
I went to the British front. I reached Paris at 7 A. M., and after 
a cursory inspection of my baggage — the novelty of American 
officers had not yet worn off — I was released by the custom 
authorities and permitted to go in search of a taxi to take me 
to the hotel. 



56 



XIII 

While motor cars in London were not plentiful, one never 
had any difficulty in finding a taxi ; in Paris, however, there 
was a great scarcity owing to the fact that so many of the city 
taxis had been commandeered by the Government and used to 
transport troops. After considerable search and with the assist- 
ance of two French porters, I finally found a dilapidated open 
barouche with a pitiful specimen of horse flesh between the 
shafts. I hesitated to engage him, for in our country one would 
have been arrested by the first officer of the Society for the 
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The entire absence of other 
vehicles emboldened me, however, to take the risk and after 
arranging with the driver for the fare which was to be charged 
(not an easy matter I assure you) I piled my travelling impedi- 
menta aboard and started for the hotel. 

It was a beautiful morning and the distance from the Gare 
du Nord to the Hotel Majestic where rooms had been reserved 
for me was considerable. It took me through some of the most 
interesting parts of Paris and I thoroughly enjoyed the trip. 

The Hotel Majestic (this had been selected for me as it 
was near our Embassy) presented quite a different appearance 
from the last time I saw it in 1911. It was then one of the 
popular places for American tourists and was luxuriously fitted 
up. Now a large part of it had been converted into a French 
hospital and the balance showed the effects of wear and tear 
and the lack of renovation. Owing to the lack of coal, hotels 
and even private houses in Paris were not permitted to have 
hot water for more than two days in the week ; Saturday and 
Sunday were hot Avater days at the Hotel Majestic and when 
I asked for a bath towel the maid explained that this being 
Tuesday there was no hot water and evidently doubted my 
sanity when I announced my intention of taking a cold tub. 
Notwithstanding her disapproval and her assurance that it might 
prove fatal, the bath after an all night ride in the railroad 
carriage was most refreshing and I enjoyed my breakfast in 
my room — a procedure insisted upon by the French hotel 
authorities, to do away with the necessity for waiters in the 
dining room in the morning. 

A ten minutes walk took me to our Embassy and I paid an 
official visit to the Military Attache, Major Frederick A. Mahan, 
who received me most cordially and after listening to my plans 
took the necessary steps to obtain audiences for me with the 

57 



French officials — a much more formidable undertaking than in 
England or the United States. To Major Mahan I am indebted 
not only for many personal acts of kindness and courtesy, but 
also to him is due credit for much of my success in obtaining 
information from the French war office and civil bureaus. The 
Major was a retired engineer officer (a brother of Captain 
Mahan, our celebrated naval officer) who before the war had 
taken up his residence in Paris and who had become acquainted 
with many of the French officials. His acquaintance with them 
and his knowledge of the French language made him a valuable 
Military Attache and he was recalled to active service shortly 
after we entered the war. His unfailing courtesy to me — a 
younger officer — his entering into the solution of my problems 
even at the sacrifice of his own time and convenience, and his 
constant, affectionate solicitation for his invalid wife, are im- 
pressions which will always remain with me. When in 1918, 
after my return to the United States, I heard of Major Mahan's 
death as a result of an operation in a Paris hospital, I felt as 
though I had lost a very dear friend. 

I completed my morning by calling on Mr. Sidney B. Veit — 
my brother's uncle by marriage — on my bankers and at the Red 
Cross headquarters, where I surprised Major Alexander Lam- 
bert. Major Uambert, in civil life, was greatly interested in 
hospital social service work and in that we had a common 
meeting place, for while he was President of the Hospital Social 
Service Conference, in New York, I was Vice-President. Major 
Lambert afterwards went to Italy on Red Cross work and as 
was to be expected, rendered most distinguished services in that 
field ; Mrs. Lambert was doing organization work in Paris and 
I envied the Major's ability to have his family circle complete — 
a privilege denied to so many of us. 

At 6:30 Paul Rie called for me at the hotel and took me 
to his house for dinner ; it is difficult for me to express my 
appreciation of the hours spent in the Rie household. It was 
the nearest approach to home which I had during my stay 
abroad. Mrs. Rie — my wife's most intimate girlhood friend — 
had visited us in America and we had seen much of her_ during 
our previous stay in Paris in 1911, so I really came to look upon 
the Rie household as the substitute for home best obtainable 
in the circumstances. 

It is almost impossible to describe the manv interesting 
events of my stay in Paris, and a brief narrative of the happen- 
ings of some of the most important days may even, at the risk 
of repetition, serve to give an idea of my work, the conditions 
in Paris and the way I spent my time. 

Wednesday, October 10th. 

On my way down town I stopped at the Embassy, where 
I found a cable from Washington from Mr. McAdoo. advising 
me of the progress of the Insurance Bill and from there went 

58 



to the headquarters of the United States Army in Paris. The 
Army had taken over the entire Hotel Mediteranee, situated on 
the river bank — the Quai de la Rapee — a structure w^hich 
Parisians assured me had been a failure as a hotel, but which, 
thanks to the American Army, its owners had now found to be 
a veritable gold mine. I called on General Richard M. Blatch- 
ford, the head of the Line of Communications. He ordered his 
adjutant to issue to me the special identification card with 
which all officers in Paris were to be equipped. The General 
was much interested in my explanation of the relief plans which 
the War Risk Insurance Act contemplated — a subject which I 
discussed with him subsequently on a number of occasions. 

While at headquarters I sent my first E. F. M. cable home ; 
this was a special service inaugurated by the Western Union 
Telegraph Company for the benefit of the officers and men of the 
American Expeditionary Forces. The rate was very low and 
the service slow as all messages were mailed to London and 
sent from there. No code words were permitted and all in all 
the service was not particularly satisfactory^ as when it was 
necessary to send a cable it was usually desirable to have it go 
without delay — results which could not be accomplished by 
using the special service. 

Major Mahan called for me after lunch and we visited 
Colonel Goubet, Chief of the Second Bureau of the French War 
Department, who found out what information I wanted and 
promised to advise me when the Bureau Chiefs would be ready 
to give the facts to me. The French War Office is located in 
interesting buildings on the left bank of the Seine and access 
to the bulidings is not the simple procedure to which we Ameri- 
cans were accustomed. Application has to be made in advance, 
a full statement of the mission of the applicant and an appoint- 
ment made with the officer who is to be seen. A formal looking 
pass was issued, half of which is detached by the sentry at the 
door as you enter. During your progress through the building 
you are frequently stopped by guards to whom must be shown 
the remaining half of your pass. Unless you have a pass you 
are not permitted to leave the building and one shudders at the 
thought of the fate of one who had inadvertently lost his pass — 
he probably would be compelled to spend the rest of his days 
in the War Office. 

Major Mahan and I then walked across the city to the 
Hotel St. Anne (the Major, notwithstanding his years, is a great 
pedestrian and tells me that he owes his good health and his 
vigor — for he is over 70 — to his long walks, his deep breathing 
and his abstemious habits) ; here the United States Armv has 
established a post office, where one may buv United States 
stamps and feel reasonably sure of never receiving letters which 
are sent from the United States. This constituted one of the 
great complaints of our soldiers, for the mail service was as 

59 



bad as it could possibly be. I am not sure that this could be 
remedied, for it is not an easy thing to deliver mail to organiza- 
tions which are split up and the various units spread all over 
a country vv^ith poorly equipped transportation facilities ; for- 
tunately, my mail came in the official Embassy pouch and 
reached me with as little delay as one could expect in war times. 
In the afternoon I called on Colonel Keene, of our Medical 
Corps, and discussed with him the records which the army would 
keep in order that they might supplement the records of the 
War Risk Insurance Bureau. 

Thursday, October 11th. 

At the Embassy this morning I found a number of pieces 
of mail from England, but none from home, and spent some time 
with my official correspondence. Major Mahan invited me to be 
his guest at a meeting of the American Luncheon Club — of 
which he was Vice-President — at the Cafe Cardinal, at which 
Isaac F. Marcosson, the well known war correspondent, spoke 
most entertainingly of his experiences in Russia, from which 
place he had just returned. He told of his interviews with 
Kerensky and of his fears for the future of Russia — fears which 
were justified by the events which took place in Russia during 
the next twelve months. When I came in the room and was 
introduced to Marcosson, he at once recalled the fact that many 
years ago he had come late at night to my house to interview 
me on the fake schemes of sellers of stock of life insurance 
companies, a subject about which he was writing a series of 
articles for one of the magazines. I was amazed at his memory, 
for he was able to recall every detail of what must have been an 
ordinary interview to him. I know of no man who has met so 
many interesting people and who is able to get so clear a view 
of the real political and social situations in the different countries. 

In the afternoon I returned to the Embassy to meet Captain 
Carl Boyd, A. D. C. to General Pershing (Captain Boyd was a 
graduate of West Point, spoke French fluently and was of great 
assistance to General Pershing in his work. He was subse- 
quently made a Colonel and his untimely death in Paris from 
pneumonia was a source of great sorrow to those to whom he 
had endeared himself.) He informed me that General Pershing 
was to be in town the next morning and made an appointment 
with me for 10:30 at the Hotel Mediteranee. When we were 
through talking Major Mahan took me up stairs to meet 
Ambassador Sharp, who received me most graciously. 

Friday, October 12th. 

Naturally, there is no man who occupies so exalted a posi- 
tion in the world of an army officer as Commander-in-Chief ; 
I, therefore, looked forward to our meeting with considerable 
interest and wondered how a General would behave to a mere 
Captain — I venture to say that no civilian can appreciate the 
space which separates those two ranks. 

60 



I reported at the Hotel Mediteranee as directed and found 
a number of officers — some of high rank — waiting in the ante- 
room. Punctually at 10:30 Captain Boyd took me in to General 
Pershing's office and introduced me. The General is a wonder- 
fully simple, democratic and kindly man, who made me feel at 
ease at once ; he was interested in the plans of the War Risk 
Insurance Act and particularly the attempt to furnish adequate 
compensation to the disabled soldier. He instructed me to come 
to his headquarters and to visit the other divisional headquarters 
for the purpose of explaining the various features to the officers 
and men stationed there. I had frequent conferences with 
General Pershing after that, but the recollection I have of this 
first interview will always be the most vivid. 

Before returning to the Embassy I was introduced to the 
Chief Quartermaster, Line of Communications, and lunched with 
Major Miller, a Q. M. Reserve officer from Chicago. 



01 



XIV 

Before leaving Washington I had a talk with Secretary 
McAdoo as to the necessity for learning what the French and 
English were doing in the matter of education and restoration 
of wounded men; he informed me that Dr. Edward T. Devine 
had offered to make such a survey for him (I think Dr. Devine 
told me the funds were furnished by a philanthropist in New 
York named Milbank) and that he had accepted the offer. The 
Doctor left about a fortnight before I did and in consequence 
finished his English investigation before I reached that country; 
we met, however, in Paris, and Dr. Devine invited me to dine 
with him at the Cafe Voisin for the purpose of discussing his 
report with him. It was hard to believe that there was any 
food shortage, for the delicious dinner — ending with heaping 
plates of wild strawberries and oceans of whipped cream — 
could not have been improved upon in peace times. 

Saturday, October 13th. 

Divided my morning between the Embassy, the Hotel St. 
Anne and the Hotel Mediteranee. Mr. and Mrs. Rie lunched 
with me and in the afternoon we went to the Petit Palais, where 
they are exhibiting the tapestries which were removed from 
Rheims — one of the few museums open in Paris. We also visited 
the captured guns and airships which were stored in the court- 
yard of the Hotel des Invalides, near Napoleon's tomb. After 
tea I walked home with them so that I could congratulate her 
mother, who had just received a medal from the French Govern- 
ment for her work at the American Ambulance. The evening 
was spent at the hotel reading and mapping out my future plans. 

Sunday, October 14th. 

After visiting the Embassy for mail and cables, I went to 
the home of Mr. B. F. Shoninger for lunch. Mr. Shoninger. with 
whom 1 had become acquainted at the luncheon of the American 
Club, had been President of the American Chamber of Commerce 
in Paris and occupied an important position in our colony. Mrs. 
Shoninger was trying to create an American atmosphere for 
our officers and soldiers stationed in Paris, and her home was 
always filled with a number of such "exiles," who were recipients 
of her bounteous hospitality ; in the afternoon Mr. Shoninger 
and I called for Ambassador Sharp and took him and his guest. 
Professor Baldwin, (who with his wife and daughter was tor- 

62 



pedoed on the Sussex) to the model farm operated entirely by 
mutilated soldiers. M. Poincaire, President of the French 
Republic and the Minister of War, Painleve (I think I have his 
name correctly) were also there and I was presented to them. 
The accomplishments of the soldiers along agricultural lines 
were wonderful and I have never seen a more excellent exhibit 
of rabbits. During our visit there was a flock of aeroplanes over 
us all the time as one of the French aviation schools adjoins the 
farm. 

In the evening I dined with the Ries at the Island Club, 
located on one of the islands in the Seine just beyond Neuilly. 
This club has extended its hospitality to American and English 
officers stationed in Paris, and a number of them were dining 
there. 

Monday, October 15th. 

The Metro landed me at the Gare de I'Este, where after an 
inspection of my travel orders by the gendarme at the ticket 
window, I was permitted to buy a ticket for Chaumont, head- 
quarters of the American Army, at the reduced military rate, 
which is 25 per cent of the regular tariff. It seems strange to 
an American, accustomed to go where he wanted, and to see 
what he wanted, to find that no one was permitted to leave 
Paris without permission from the military authorities. 

After a few hours ride I landed in one of the quaintest 
French villages imaginable, near the Swiss border and went 
direct to headquarters, where I saw Major James A. Logan, Jr., 
of the General Staff, and was informed that General Pershing 
would be away with Marshal Joffre until the evening. I spent 
the afternoon with General Rogers, Chief Quartermaster of the 
American Expeditionary Forces, who was greatly interested in 
the War Risk Insurance Act, and we prepared a cable for sub- 
mission to General Pershing to be sent to Washington in refer- 
ence to the issuance of an order announcing the provisions of the 
Act to the A. E. F. While walking along the streets of Chau- 
mont I met Harry Bullock, formerly a star reporter of the New 
York Times, who came to Lake Placid to see me when I was 
investigating the Provident Savings Life Assurance Society for 
Mr. Rittenhouse of Colorado and Mr. Kelsey of New York. 
Bullock was afterwards Secretary to Colonel Williams, President 
of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and in charge of its 
welfare work ; we saw considerable of one another in connection 
with the insurance plan which Colonel Williams wanted to estab- 
lish for his employees, but neither of us knew that the other 
had entered the service. I think we were mutually happy over 
the meeting and Bullock — who was a Captain in the Quarter- 
master Corps — asked me to dine at the Quartermaster mess in 
the evening. He and Colonel Clayton were killed early in 1918 
near Montdidier. 

63 



For some reason or other Chaumont was not well known 
to Americans before the war. I have never heard why it was 
selected for the headquarters of the American Expeditionary 
Forces, but it certainly was a most delightful town — beautifully 
situated in a rolling section of France, traversed by quaint wind- 
ing streets and its architecture appealing to Americans accus- 
tomed to the monotonous regularity of our buildings ; all these 
tended to make this an ideal spot for an officer taking exercises 
ancl recreation after the long working hours, which fell to the 
lot of our officers. In peace times I was informed that Chaumont 
was the headquarters for a very extensive glove industry. I 
hope some day I may be permitted to return to the Hotel de 
France, where 1 spent many comfortable nights after my initia- 
tion. The initiation consisted in being assigned to a room right 
across from the bell tower, from which emerged at half hourly 
intervals loud peals which effectually banished all ideas of sleep. 
All new officers were initiated in this way, but after the first 
night nobody ever willingly took a room in that part of the 
house. 

Tuesday, October 16th. 

Had a very enjoyable time at the Q. M. Mess last night. 
Bullock walked back to the hotel with me and although it was 
only the middle of October, the time of our most delightful 
Inaian summer at home, there was a chill in the air which 
seemed to penetrate to the marrow of one's bones. All in all, 
I think that the climate of France was the most unpleasant I 
have ever experienced. The dampness seemed to have a pene- 
trating quality which had no respect for clothing and which I 
found had a very depressing effect. 

I reported at General Pershing's headquarters and while 
awaiting him, a car drove up from which he and Marshal JofTre 
alighted. They proceeded to the General's quarters and later 
in the morning the Marshal asked to have all of the officers 
presented to him. We were all marched up and Colonel Boyd, 
acting as master of ceremonies, presented each officer in turn. 
Although I had seen the Marshal on his visit to New York, it 
was a pleasant experience to have the opportunity of saluting 
him, grasping his hand and being personally introduced. Major 
Logan invited me to his mess for lunch ; he and Colonel de 
Chambrun (Count de Chambrun was French Military Attache 
at Washington for a number of years) had a house near General 
Pershing's chateau and had as orderly and mess attendant a 
soldier who was formerly one of the chefs at the Hotel de 
Crillon in Paris ; it is not hard to appreciate that one suffered 
all the privations of war at this mess. 

In the afternoon General Pershing sent for me and outlined 
some of the work which he wished me to undertake. 

I caught the 5:31 train to Paris and travelled in company 
with some very pleasant officers. The dining service on the car 

64 



was very fair and the system used is one which has so many 
advantages that it would seem that our railroads might adopt 
it in the interests of efficiency and economy. As the train starts 
the dining car conductor goes through and gives you a ticket 
either for the first, second or third service as desired by you, 
unless there are no more vacant seats at the service which you 
desire, in which case you are compelled to make another choice. 
When meal time arrives the first service is announced and all 
who had tickets for that service go to the dining car and occupy 
the seats indicated by the numbers on their ticket. When all 
are seated the waiters start and serve the first course to every- 
body. When the last person in the car has been served the 
first one has finished and the service of the second course is 
started. In this way three waiters are enabled to serve the 
entire car expeditiously and satisfactorily and although some 
may prefer service a la carte, the meal was excellent and not 
expensive. 

Wednesday, October 17th. 

Met Colonel Wallace, of the Signal Corps, who crossed on 
the Adriatic with me, and found that he had been detailed as 
Chief Signal Officer of the Line of Communications. As such, he 
will have charge of the telephone and telegraph service except 
at the front — a very responsible detail. 

Conferences were had this morning with Lt. Colonel Stan- 
ton, who is in charge of money matters of the Quartermaster 
Corps, and Major Miller, relative to the way in which the 
financial matters connected with the War Risk Insurance Act 
can be most advantageously handled. 

Thursday, October 18th. 

At the Embassy I found a message from Dr. Devine asking 
me to call at Red Cross Headquarters ; when I reached there I 
found that Dr. Devine had asked Professor Edward Fuster, 
Professor at the College of France, and a great French authority 
on pensions and workmen's compensation insurance to meet me. 
We lunched together and I obtained a great deal of valuable 
information. In the afternoon Miss Harper, of the Red Cross, 
took me to the Grande Palais, where there is a hospital, physical 
therapy rooms and re-education classes. The work which 
mutilated soldiers are being taught to do is wonderful. There 
are classes of blind men who are taught to become basket 
weavers and another class where blind men are taught to 
become masseurs. I am informed that these masseurs have 
developed great skill and there is an excellent field for men 
with this training. 

Friday, October 19th. 

I learned that Colonel Reynal Boiling was in Paris in charge 
of aviation matters and on my way from the Embassy stopped 
in to pay my respects. We had served together on the City 
Pension Commission, appointed by Mayor Gaynor to investigate 

65 



pension conditions in New York City — a commission created as 
a result of my cursory investigation of the Teachers Retirement 
Fund, which showed its impencHng insolvency. Colonel Boiling 
as usual, was most charming and we chatted together for some 
timcK Shortly afterwards, Colonel Boiling, while travelling in 
his auto near one of the battlefields was killed by a German 
sniper. I never heard the exact facts, but was told that his 
driver had lost his bearings and was headed for the German 
lines at the time. 

Very near the aviation headquarters was the beautiful house 
formerly used by Colonel Bacon as the American Embassy. In 
it the Clearing House was established — an organization intended 
to co-ordinate the various activities in Paris — with which Mrs. 
Alexander Lambert was very actively connected. In addition 
to calling upon her, I had the opportunity of seeing the very 
interesting work which was being carried on in the interests 
of efficiency and economy. 

Saturday, October 20th. 

My entire morning was taken up with consultations with 
Mr. Frazier, First Secretary of the Embassy, relative to some 
important cables which were sent to me here from Washington. 
As nothing could be done until further instructions arrived from 
the United States, I was enabled to devote the balance of the 
day to sight seeing — a treat which, up to this time, I had denied 
myself. 

Mrs. Rie and I took lunch together in a delightful restau- 
rant and then we crossed to the Isle de la Cite to Notre Dame : 
from there we went to the Isle St. Louis, where, thanks to an 
obliging porter, we were permitted to stroll through some of 
the delightful old gardens surrounding what were once the 
houses of the aristocratic citizens living in that quarter. A 
I)risk walk took us to the Jardin du Luxembourg, where we 
watched the interesting maneuvers of some aviators hovering 
over the city. Paris seemed to be protected by a systematic air 
patrol for, at stated intervals, aeroplanes could be seen and heard 
crossing and recrossing the skies : there were also a number of 
captive balloons which evidently served as observation posts. 
Whether these precautions were responsible for the comparative 
freedom from air raids which Paris enjoyed or whether there 
was some deep political reason why London should be visited 
so frequently and Paris so seldom. I never learned. There were 
constant rumors to the effect that the Germans did not wish to 
destroy Paris and that the reason why the French boats were 
seldom torpedoed was that German spies used them for travel- 
ling to and from the United States. These, of course, were mere 
rumors and during war time I know of no industry which is 
so overworked as the Rumor Factory. This is probably a natural 
result of the nervous tension which everybody experiences, 
caused by being constantly on the alert, distrusting all acquaint- 

66 



ances, save those whose antecedents are well known and being 
constantly on the watch for spies and plots. 

Sunday, October 21st. 

Spent the morning at the Embassy attending to the cables 
and letters which I found there awaiting me, then took a long 
walk through the Avenue de la Grande Armee through the Porte 
Maillot to Neuilly. The Porte Maillot is one of the city gates — 
a relic of the old time when Paris was walled in, and, in fact, 
some of the old fortifications and embankments can be seen 
nearby. At present it serves as a point beyond which taxi 
drivers double their fares — without regard to distance — and here 
are collected the taxes which the city levies on all supplies, 
including gasoline, which are brought in — the Octroi. The Ries 
live about ten minutes walk beyond the gate. 

After lunch we visited the American Ambulance — a modern 
American Hospital located in a very attractive building formerly 
a large school. It is not a matter of mere insular prejudice 
which leads me to conclude that the United States need take no 
back seat when it comes to hospital administration, for I have 
had the opportunity of visiting English, French, Swiss and Ger- 
man institutions. The American Ambulance seemed as though a 
section of New York had been removed and transplanted 3000 
miles away, for American doctors, American nurses, American 
patients and American methods blotted out Paris for the instant. 
The French appreciated the good work which this Hospital is 
doing for the French wounded and this co-operation between 
countries is one of the few pleasant results of this war. 



67 



XV 

Monday, October 22nd. 

General Pershing having ordered me to report at Chaumont, 
I took an early morning train ; at Troyes — where a large 
Canadian hospital is located — a dapper French officer entered 
my compartment and with the characteristic courtesy of French 
officers, clicked his heels together and saluted stiffly. I invited 
him to sit beside me and his imperfect English and my equally 
imperfect French, enabled us to carry on a conversation in the 
course of which I learned that the previous day a German 
Zeppelin — the L-49 — had been brought down by French aviators 
at Bourbonne-les-Bains, about 30 kilometers distant from 
American headquarters. Upon my arrival at Chaumont I asked 
the Officer of the Guard to detail a car to take me to Bourbonne. 
but he explained with much disgust that the Hoover party had 
taken all of his cars and the best he could do was to detail a 
sergeant of the Signal Corps to take me over in a motorcycle ; 
the ride was unique and enjoyable, though cold, and we covered 
the 30 kilometers in about an hour. 

We found the L-49 about 4 kilometers out of the town and it 
was a wonderful sight. Although I had read of the size of these 
air ships it was impossible to visualize it from the mere descrip- 
tion and the actual Zeppelin seemed like some uncanny monster; 
they had captured the entire crew, all scientific instruments and 
the log book. The French officer in charge of the field gave me 
a large piece of the outer envelope which covered the entire 
aluminum frame (I thought it was of silk, but was subsequently 
informed by the War College in Washington — I had sent a piece 
of the fabric there as soon as I could — that it was closely woven 
cotton cloth covered with a bitumen to render it air proof and 
moisture proof). The French interpreter, standing near the 
balloon, had just come from interviewing the captured German 
officer who had been in charge of the Zeppelin and told me the 
story which he had obtained, which ran about as follows : This 
was one of a fleet of Zeppelins which started for England to 
raid London, but when he was crossing the Channel the Com- 
mander concluded that he would reach London before it was 
dark enough and he thereupon decided to kill time by rising to 
a higher altitude. He did so and when it was decided to start 
again for London, found that his radiator was frozen and he 
was compelled to drift. This drifting took place all night and 
in the morning, the Commander thinking he was over a neutral 

68 



country — probably Switzerland — decided to land; as he ap- 
proached the earth some French aeroplanes started up after 
him and the Commander, trying to elevate his balloon, found 
that for some reason he could not do so. He, thereupon, flew 
a white flag and brough the Zeppelin to earth, its nose resting 
in the bed of a creek and the stern resting on a clump of trees 
on the bank, the idea being to break the back of the ship so 
that it could not be used again. Although he had flown the 
white flag, the officer jumped to the ground as soon as he could 
and started to fire incendiary bullets from his pistol to destroy 
the ship, but three French peasants, hunting in the field, rushed 
up and covered him with their shot guns until French troops 
arrived. Fortunately, the bullets struck the engine, were 
deflected and did no serious damage. How much of this story 
is true, and how much is German invention tempered with 
French interpretation, is something that I cannot tell. 

Upon my return to headquarters I reported to General 
Pershing, who directed me to prepare the basis of the memo- 
randum which he will promulgate in regard to the Insurance 
Bill. 

Tuesday, October 23rd. 

Continued my conferences and then left at 5 :30 for Paris ; 
I had three delightful companions in the person of Fleet Surgeon 
F. von Wedekind, U. S. N., Surgeon W. B. Brinsmade, U. S. 
N. R. (whose home is in Brooklyn) and Captain Lewis P. Ford, 
U. S. A. 

Wednesday, October 24th. 

Went to the Embassy early this morning and, while dis- 
cussing matters with Major Mahan, had the pleasure of renew- 
ing my acquaintance with Major General Hugh L Scott and 
Major Fenton, who was with him. The following cable dated 
Washington, October 19, was handed to me : 
Embassy, Paris. 
2728, October 19, 5 P. M. 

For Captain Wolfe, 
From Secretary McAdoo. Quote : 

You are to remain abroad for a time fully to organize and 
put into operation European Office War Risk Insurance in Paris, 
and such branch offices as you may deem advisable. In all of 
your work, relative to War Risk Insurance, that whatever you 
do you should do with approval of the Commanding General of 
the Expeditionary Forces. It is also recommended that you re- 
quest of General Pershing the necessary detail of assistants, 
officers and non-commissioned officers for the purpose of this 
work. End quote. 

LANSING. 

This cable was indicative of the lack of appreciation which 
people in America had of the conditions in France, and in con- 
junction with Major Mahan, I prepared my reply which, before 
sending, I took to the Hotel Mediteranee for submission to Gen- 
eral Pershing; the General, however, was not there, but his 
Adjutant General, General Alvord, after hearing my explanation, 

69 



approved my reply as I had drawn it and T therefore sent the 

following cable to Mr. McAdoo : 

Secretary of Treasury McAdoo, Washington. 

Your cable nineteenth just received. Work you request me 
to perform exceeds scope contained in my detail from Secretary 
of War paragraph 22 special orders 188 and if War Department 
orders me to perform this additional work supplementary in- 
structions must be issued as under terms of my orders I would 
not be authorized to organize and operate War Risk Insurance 
office. That work may involve expenditure of many thousands 
of dollars engaging hundreds of clerks and executing leases. In 
absence of specific instructions and authorizations no such work 
can be undertaken. General Pershing would not entertain any 
request from me for detail of officers. Such instructions would 
have to come to him from Washington. There are no officers 
and non-commissioned officers here available for purpose indi- 
cated and additional civilian force would have to be sent from 
America or engaged here. In circumstances respectfully request 
prompt instructions from sources which as army officer I can 
obey. Am prepared to leave shortlv. 

WOLFE. 

At five o'clock Major Mahan and T went to the British 
Embassy to call on the British Attache and arrange for my 
visit to the British front, where I wished to inspect the methods 
used by the British in keeping a record of the casualties from 
the time that the soldier was injured until his return to England. 

On my way home I was greatly surprised to meet Lt. Colonel 
Frank H. Lawton. whom I had not seen since the time that he 
was stationed at Governor's Island ; he arranged to dine with 
me in the evening. 

Thursday, October 25th. 

Upon arriving at the Embassy this morning found that the 
French War Department had sent the necessary permits, so 
Major Mahan and I called on L' Intendant Militaire Vinel — the 
equivalent of whose office in our country would be that of Assist- 
ant Quartermaster General. We stayed with him for several 
hours, accompanying him from department to department and 
obtained an excellent insight into the way matters of allotment 
and allowances were handled by the French War Department. 
I felt, however, that the system followed no methods which 
could be advantageously adopted by our Army. 

On my return to the Embassy found that headquarters at 
Chaumont had telephoned that there was an important cable 
for me. and upon communicating with Colonel Hines, he promised 
to send it to Paris by courier at once. 

Friday, October 26th. 

From the Embassy Major Mahan and I called on Leon 
Marescaux, Sous Chef du Cabinet du Sous Secretaire d* Etat 
a' r Interieur. who explained the working of the Separation 
Allowance Department of the French Government. I found, 
however, that the small amount of pay which the French soldier 
received and the financial condition of the French Government 
rendered their methods inapplicable to us. This department is 

70 



housed in one of the beautiful old mansions in Paris and it 
seemed incongruous to have a palatial ball room filled with filing 
cabinets, desks and other furniture connected with grim military 
business. 

In the afternoon, called at the Hotel Mediteranee to get a 
copy of the cable which Washington had sent to General Per- 
shing, and as a result deemed it advisable to go to headquarters 
the following morning. 

Saturday, October 27th. 

Went to Chaumont and talked with General Rogers, Colonel 
McCoy, Colonel Hines and Lt. Colonel Davis, and discussed with 
them the terms of the order which General Pershing was to 
issue to me placing me in charge of the European Office of the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance. Lunched Avith a unique char- 
acter, Father Joyce, a Chaplain now working in the Intelligence 
Department, and in the evening dined with General Rogers at 
his mess. 

While I feel that from the reports I have received from the 
United States I should be at home directing the formation of 
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance — which, unless it is properly 
started, will soon get into a miserable muddle — I, nevertheless, 
am pleased to be able to remain in France, where so much of 
the world's history is being made at this moment. The orders 
which General Pershing issued were very interesting to Army 
officers as they conferred unusual powers upon me, as may be 
judged from an inspection of the document itself, as follows : 

General Orders No. SO. 

Headquarters American Expeditionary Forces 

France, October 27, 1917. 
1. Under authority contained in a cablegram from the War De- 
partment (No. 314-R) Captain S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. Corps, U. S. R., 
is assigned to duty in charge of the European Office, War Risk 
Insurance, which will be organized and put into operation by 
him at Paris, France. In addition to the European office to be 
organized at Paris, he will establish branch offices at such other 
places as he may deem advisable. 

Captain Wolfe is authorized to hire such buildings and incur 
such expenses as may be necessary under his instructions from 
the Secretary of the Treasury. On his request, the Commanding 
General, Line of Communications, will furnish him necessary 
details of assistants, officers and non-commissioned officers for 
the purposes of this work; and the Disbursing Quartermaster, 
Line of Communications, will pay such vouchers as Captain 
Wolfe may certify to as necessary for the purposes laid down 
in instructions furnished him through these headquarters. 
By command of General Pershing, 

J. G. Harbord, 
Brig. Gen., Chief of Staff. 
Official: 

Benj. Alvord, 

Adjutant General. 

Sunday, October 28th. 

Continued my work at headquarters preparing the bulletin 
to be issued and the application blanks to be used. Lunched 

71 



with Major Coulter, former head of the Children's Aid Society 
in New York, and took the evening train back to Paris, travelling 
with George T. Leake, Superintendent of Transportation of the 
U. S. Army Mail Service, who told me what difficulties he had 
in tr3nng to get mail delivered promptly to our men. 

Monday, October 29th. 

I presented General Pershing's order at headquarters and 
the Commanding General, Line of Communications, detailed 
Captain B. N. Carvalho, Q. M., U. S. R., and Lt. Harold B. 
Hoskins, U. S. Marine Corps, as my assistants; I started the 
former on a hunt to find where we could have our forms printed 
— not an easy job in Paris at the present time — while Hoskins 
and I went in search of offices. 

I had known Carvalho slightly in the States and when 
Colonel Lawton told me that Carvalho had crossed with him on 
the transport I was very glad to put in for him as my assistant, 
for I realized that his knowledge of insurance matters would 
be of inestimable value. In this I was not mistaken, for what- 
ever success I had with the establishment of the War Risk 
Insurance office in Europe, a generous share of it is due to the 
assistance of Captain Carvalho. No man ever had a more loyal 
and enthusiastic associate to relieve him from many of the 
grinding details which would have interfered with the successful 
working of the main idea. 

Tuesday, October 30th. 

Saw an office at 35, Boulevard Haussmann and had almost 
decided to take it when Captain Washburn, in charge of real 
estate matters at the Hotel Mediteranee, asked me to look at 
an office at 1, Rue des Italienes the tenant of which wanted 
to sub-let, and I agreed to meet the tenant tomorrow morning 
at 10, to discuss the matter with him. 

Wednesday, October 31st. 

Made an early start at headquarters and attended to a 
number of routine matters before going to 1, Rue des Italienes, 
where I met the interpreter and tenant. After some dickering 
as to price, I arranged to take the place. It is in the same 
building with the American Consul-General, Mr. Thackera, and 
the Guaranty Trust Company has its Paris office on the ground 
floor. I opened a bank account with the Trust Company and 
foimd that in France this is a considerable function and not the 
haphazard procedure which we follow in America. You pay for 
your cheque book — each cheque has a Government tax stamp 
lithographed upon it — and I was told that no cheques are ever 
returned with the monthly statement, the bank retaining them 
as authority for having made the payment. Sent Hoskins to 
Chaumont and spent the rest of the day at the printer's reading 
proof until it was time for me to go to Neuilly, where T dined. 

72 



Thursday, November 1st. 

Nothing- of interest today except that on our way round 
town Carvalho and I stopped in at the art exhibition to see the 
portrait of General Pershing, which a young American had just 
finished. Found General Pershing-, General Harbord and Colonel 
Boyd also there and had an excellent opportunity to compare 
the original with the portrait. I found the latter cold and stiff 
and lacking in a portrayal of those human qualities which are 
so characteristic of the General. 

Friday, November 2nd. 

\^isited the new office and indicated the furniture which I 
was willing to buy. I had received my pass and instructions 
from the British Embassy, and in accordance therewith made 
my preparations to start for the British front tomorrow. The 
thorough way in which the British carry out their projects is 
well illustrated by the "undertaking" which I was required to 
sign, and as it may be of interest. I repeat it here. The 
"undertaking" was printed in parallel columns, one French and 
the other English : 
Undertaking to be signed by all intending visitors to the British Front. 

1. (a) All correspondence written by me in the Field will be handed 

open to the officer conducting my party who will arrange for 
it to be forwarded. Letters, etc., posted without a censor stamp 
in an Army Post Office are subjected to delay; those posted in 
civil post offices are either delayed or destroyed. 

(b) I will not mention in any correspondence anything which could 
be, either directly or indirectly, of use to the enemy. The follow- 
ing subjects, amongst others, I will not mention: — 
i. Names of places or units of the Armies, when such mention gives 
any indication as to where headquarters of Armies, Divisions, 
Brigades, or Units are situated. 

ii. Plans of future operations, whether surmised or known. 

iii. Hours, dates, and system of reliefs. 

iv. Details of batteries, defensive works, observation stations, rail- 
way construction, mining and bridging operations, billets of 
troops, strength of units, casualties. 

I will avoid criticism of the conduct of operations, or of indi- 
vidual officers, or anything reflecting on the Allied Forces. 

2. On my return I will conform to the spirit of the above rules 
when recounting my experiences either in public speeches, in 
private conversation, or in correspondence. 

3. I will not publish, nor submit for publication, matter of any 
kind concerning, arising out of, or suggested by, my visit either 
in the form of letter or otherwise, without first submitting such 
matter, if in the Field, through G. H. Q., or, if elsewhere, direct 
to the Official Press Bureau, Whitehall, London, for censorship, 
and I will not publish anything that has not been passed as 
censored by the Press Bureau, Whitehall, London. 

4. In no circumstances will I bring into the zone of the Armies 
any camera, photographing apparatus, instrument or accessory. 

5. I will not deliver an address to the troops on any subject without 
first obtaining consent of the senior officer present. 

6. In no circumstances will I deliver a political or electioneering 
speech to troops. 

7. I understand that it is impossible to arrange for me to see 
relatives serving with the fighting forces, and that, as the num- 



ber of Staff Officers and cars available is limited, my tour must 
be conducted according to a set program. 

8. I will not write to, nor be interviewed for the press on my 
return, unless previously granted permission by the Secretary 
to the Army Council. 

9. I will not visit the enemy front during the present war. 

10. I will conform to any further instructions that may be issued 

by G. H. Q. during my visit. 

I have read the foregoing instructions for visitors to the British 
Front, and I agree to carry them out. 
Place Paris Date 30-10-17 

Signature S. H. Wolfe (Signed) 
Signature of Officer F. Lane, (Signed) 

Capt. 

Note. — One copy of this undertaking should be signed by the 
intending visitor, either at the Military Permit Office, 
Bedford Square, London, or at the office of the (British) 
Assistant Provost Marshal in Paris. If not signed at 
either of these two places, then it will be signed on the 
arrival of the visitor within the British Zone. 
A second copy will be handed to the visitor on signing, 
as aide memoire. 



74 



XVI 

Saturday, November 3rd. 

Paul A. Rie — who was in Paris on leave from the American 
Army — took breakfast with me and I then caught the 9:10 A. M. 
train for Amiens, where I was met by Major D. P. Watson, of 
the British Army. The Major consulted the schedule which had 
been arranged for us and found that we were not to leave for 
headquarters until the afternoon, so we used the intervening 
time to walk about the quaint city and to visit the celebrated 
Cathedral with its beautiful Rose window. Both the exterior 
stone carvings and the interior chapel carvings are protected by 
bags of sand to guard against damage resulting from shell fire 
and in consequence I failed to see some of the more elaborate 
carvings. In one of the campaigns — 1915 I think — the German 
operations were very close to Amiens and, in fact, the Com- 
manding General and his staff entered the city, but for some 
reason it was spared the horrors of a bombardment. 

After a very delightful lunch, the Major's car called for us 
and took us to the headquarters of the Third British Army at 
Albert. This was the first destroyed town which I visited and 
it left a peculiar feeling of resentment. To walk through street 
after street and find no house left standing brought one face to 
face with the grim realties of war. Rooms were reserved for 
me in the Officers Club, which, in peace times, was the Alms 
House ; it is one of the few houses left habitable, although it 
has no roof over a considerable part of the building. 

I was presented to Surgeon General J. M. Irwin and his 
staff and spent a very pleasant hour with them. 

Major Watson took me to the Gas Department to have a 
gas mask fitted. This was a very interesting experience for, 
after instructing me in the proper way to adjust the mask and 
teaching me how to breathe I was taken to a gas chamber in 
order to see whether there was any leak in the mask and also 
whether I had learned the proper method of using it. I prac- 
ticed putting it on for some time — for after the alarm is given 
all masks are supposed to be properly adjusted in six seconds — 
and was then put in the chamber where I stayed for perhaps 
five minutes, after which time I was taken outside and permitted 
to unmask. In order to show me how efficacious the appliance 
was. I was asked to step into the chamber which I had just left, 
but urged not to do it too quickly. The caution was most timely 
for as I opened the door of the room which I had just left and 

75 



put my face inside, I was nearly asphyxiated. The room was 
filled with fumes — bromide I think — which it would have been 
impossible to breathe for more than three seconds, but I had 
stayed in there for several minutes with no discomfort and 
without realizing that the air was not as pure as in the open. 
It gave me supreme confidence in my mask. I was then equipped 
with a steel helmet and on the way back to our quarters we 
stopped at the ruins of the Basilique de Notre Dame de Brebieres. 
This is probably one of the cathedrals with which Americans 
are most familiar, for it was surmounted by a statue of the 
Virgin holding the Infant in her arms. After fifteen months 
of bombardment the statue was displaced so that it was hanging 
over the street at an angle of 90 degrees to its original position. 
There was a legend that the war would not end until the statue 
fell in the streets (a prediction which was carried out, for in the 
drive in the spring of 1918, when the Germans returned almost 
to Amiens, the bombardment of Albert continued and the statue 
landed in the street.) 

Before going to the General's mess for dinner. Major Wat- 
son and I attended a concert given by the enlisted men attached, 
I think, to the Royal Flying Corps, stationed at Albert. It was 
a most creditable performance and some idea of the spirit which 
actuated the men can be gleaned from the titles on the program. 



PROGRAMME 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

9. 
10. 
11. 
12. 



Part I 
Opening Chorus 
Shepherd's Bush 
A Bachelor Gay 
Interne Them All 
When I Left the World Behind 
Oh. Joe, with Your Fiddle 
Impressions 
Wakki Hula Yukki Du 
Follow the Sergeant 
Friend O' Mine 
Sing Us an English Song 
Order Please 



Part II 

1. Come 'Round London 

2. Good, Damned Good 

3. Where Did That One Go? 

4. Some Sort of Somebody 

5. Moses, Moses 

6. The Burglary 

7. By and By You Will Miss Me 

8. Lead Me to Love 

9. The Band 
10. Good Night 

GOD SAVE THE KING 



Sunday, November 4th. 

At 9. Major Watson and I started for Arras, passing through 
Bapaume — my introduction to the famous Somme battlefield. 
It is as impossi1)le to describe what this looks like as it is to 
describe the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Imagine a beautiful, 
thickly populated, agricultural country so swept by shell fire 
that no house, tree or barn is left standing, that no crops are 
left in the fields, that on all sides are shell holes and craters, 
that one sees no inhabitants and meets only soldiers and la])orers 
connected with military operations — one then has a faint idea 
of the picture presented by this poor country. The happiest 
people one meets are the German prisoners, who seem overjoved 
at their escape from danger and at the food and clothing which 
thev receive from the British. 



76 



At Arras we called on Colonel Monteith, who took us in an 
ambulance to visit the R. A. P. (Relief Aid Post), where the 
wounded are first brought. At this time we were within 1000 
yards of the German lines and the shells were flying over us con- 
stantly. The British guns were replying at a lively rate. We were 
then taken to a dressing station where, after inspecting the sys- 
tem, we had lunch — my first under fire. This was a place called 
Fampoux, just south of Vimy, the place where the Canadians 
fought so gallantly. At Fampoux the officers were quartered 
in a very ingenious structure which had been built by the 
Germans. Apparently it was the chimney of a building which 
had been destroyed by shell fire, but in reality it had been built 
of concrete and iron in order to serve as an observation post. 
At a distance of one hundred feet one would have been sure 
that he was looking at an interesting ruin and would not have 
suspected its true character. 

From here we returned to Arras to visit another Hospital 
(Ecole Normal) and then to Warlus to a C. R. S. (Corps Rest 
Station) where minor cases are sent for treatment and recupera- 
tion. By this time it was dark and we had a "spooky" ride back 
for all lights must be extinguished when the car is running 
towards the Boche. The constant artillery fire, however, illu- 
minated the sky so that the driver was enabled to pick out the 
road and we returned with no casualties, but a trifle late, for 
dinner at General Irwin's mess. The General was quartered in 
what had been the finest chateau in Albert. Part of the dining 
room was cut ofif by a board partition and evidently noticing 
my wonderment, the General took me to a door in the partition 
through which we looked and saw a shell hole about ten or 
twelve feet in diameter — a little souvenir from the last bom- 
bardment. 

Monday, November 5th. 

When I reached the Officers' Club last evening, I was ap- 
proached by Lt. James Allen of the Black Watch, who asked 
if he might share my room with me, as there was a scarcity of 
quarters. I, of course, was very happy to extend this privilege 
to this English officer in view of my courteous treatment by 
his associates. He told me that his brother, David Allen, was 
living in Pittsburgh, Pa., and I promised to look him up upon 
my return. 

At ten o'clock Colonel H. M. W. Gray, Consulting Surgeon 
of the Third Army, called for me and took me to Perr^onne. 
Colonel Gray, a delightful Scotchman, was a most interesting 
companion. He showed me the ruins of the house in Perronne 
upon which the Germans had placed the sign which so angered 
the French, "nicht angern nur wundern." This town, like the 
others in this section, was a mass of pitiful ruins; from there 
we went to Ytres, where I had the opportunity of inspecting for 
the first time a Corps Clearing Station, where cases are received 



from the dressing- stations and then evacuated to the base hos- 
pitals after the necessary operations have been performed. The 
entire surrounding country is filled with interesting spots and 
Colonel Gray explained in detail the various operations in the 
Somme offensive. It gave one a better idea of the nature of 
the fighting than could have been obtained in any other way. 
In the evening we had another delightful dinner at General 
Irwin's mess. Most of the officers were called away on special 
duties and the Chaplain and I spent an interesting hour before 
the fire ; like most educated Englishmen he was well acquainted 
with American literature and history. 

Tuesday, November 6th. 

On my way back to the station at Amiens we passed a 
number of German prisoners working in the fields. They were, 
unquestionably, the happiest troops to be seen in this neighbor- 
hood. 

It was with genuine regret that I bade Major Watson good- 
bye at the Amiens station. During my brief stay on the British 
front I became well acquainted with him and learned to admire 
his excellent qualities. My travelling companion on the train 
was another interesting English officer — Captain Thornbill ; on 
my arrival in Paris went to the office at 1 Rue des Italienes, 
where I worked until 6:30. 



78 



XVII 

Wednesday, November 7th. 

Spent my first day at my new office. It is interesting to 
be required to start an enormous project — such as the War 
Risk Insurance office in France is going to be — with none of 
the usual faciHties. 

A number of cables from Washington were received, the 
most interesting one, however, being the announcement that 
Major Willard Straight would leave in ten days to become the 
permanent head of the Bureau in France and directing me to 
come home as soon as possible. 

Thursday, November 8th. 

Having been ordered by General Pershing to report to him, 
I took the early train to Chaumont, but upon my arrival was 
told by Colonel Boyd that the General was ill and had directed 
me to remain until the next day. I reported to the Quarter- 
master General — General Rogers — and we went over a number 
of matters affecting my office. 

Friday, November 9th. 

I spent two very delightful hours with General Pershing, 
explaining the War Risk Insurance Act to him. It is needless 
to say that he is a very busy man and his willingness to spend 
so much time is an indication of his interest in matters con- 
cerning the welfare of the forces under his control. Before 
reporting to the General, I asked his Aide to tell me the General's 
place and date of birth ; I, thereupon, prepared an application 
for insurance complete with the exception of the name of the 
beneficiary. At the conclusion of my interview I produced this 
application blank and showed him where to put his name on the 
dotted line. He seemed most surprised at the preparations 
which had been made (an old trick thoroughly familiar to every 
insurance man) and applied for the full limit — $10,000. 

The Secretary of the Treasury had asked me to obtain a 
letter of approval from the General which could be used as a 
means of inducing the officers and enlisted men to sign applica- 
tions and I was fortunate to obtain from the General an excellent 
letter, the contents of which I cabled to Mr. McAdoo. Before 
I left. General Pershing sent for his Chief-of-Staff, General 
Harbord, and introduced me. General Harbord took me into 
his room to discuss a number of matters with him and the 

79 



grasp which he had of the various details connected with the 
Army made a deep impression. After talking- with him for a 
few minutes one would have no difficulty in understanding why 
General Pershing placed such implicit confidence in and relied 
upon him. 

Sunday, November 11th. 

Worked at the office until 12 and lunched with the Ries. 
Late in the afternoon called on Mrs. Cans, who invited me to 
her "Lion's tea"; she had some very interesting artists, sculptors 
and writers there, but, unfortunately, my imperfect French 
deprived me of much of the opportunity to enjoy their conversa- 
tion. I have been elected an honorary member of the Island 
Club and went there for dinner. 

Monday, November 12th. 

A cable came from Mr. McAdoo requesting permission to 
name me on the Advisory Board of the War Risk Bureau, but 
I declined, feeling that as a commissioned officer in the Army I 
should hold no other office under the Government. 

Tuesday, November 13th. 

Routine office work all day, laying my plans for an inten- 
sive campaign as soon as I receive the material. Received 
instructions from Chaumont stating that General Pershing 
wished me to come up the next day. 

In the evening, Lt. Wells, Signal Corps — who crossed on 
the Adriatic with me — and I dined together at the University 
Club, formerly the Royal Palace Hotel. Afterwards, we took 
the Metro to the Gaumont Palace, where we saw some won- 
derful movies. 

Wednesday, November 14th. 

Spent the entire day at headquarters outlining to General 
Pershing and General Rogers my plans, which met with their 
approval. Waited at the station three hours for the train to 
Paris as the entire line was blocked with trains loaded with 
men, guns and horses being hurried to the front. There is 
evidently some drive being projected and rumor has it that Italy 
is the objective point. 

Thursday, November 15th. 

The six lieutenants detailed by General Pershing to assist 
me reported for duty and I started a school of instruction. It 
is but proper I should record their names, for they were most 
intelligent assistants and were of great value to the work. The 
detail consisted of Lieutenants R. T. Walker Duke. Hugh P. 
Frere. Fred C. Hempy, Frank D. Nowack (afterwards killed in 
action), Whitney R. Spiegle and Roy A. Wohlford. It was a 
delight to work with these men and I am sure that no officer 
ever had more loyal and unselfish assistants than I did. 

80 



I moved back to my old quarters in the Hotel Majestic, as 
the advantages of the University Club, being near to my office, 
did not outweigh the comforts 1 had at the Majestic. 

Friday, November 16th. 

Continued my school of instruction and am sure that the 
six lieutenants will be a credit to the War Risk Bureau. 

Major Mahan and I lunched together and then went to the 
British passport office, where I arranged to go to London via 
Boulogne and Folkestone. 

Saturday, November 17th. 

Spent the morning at the office and most of the afternoon 
at the Hotel Mediteranee interviewing various officers in the 
matter of war risk insurance and answering their many ques- 
tions. Arranged to leave for Boulogne at 9 : 10 tomorrow morning 
and will probably have to spend the night there as the tides 
will compel the Channel steamer to leave before my train arrives. 

Sunday, November 18th. 

Left for Boulogne, arriving there at 3 :25, just in time to 
enable me to jump into a rickety horse drawn vehicle (no taxis 
available), and hurl myself aboard the boat, which left at 3:30. 
The Channel was as calm as the proverbial mill pond and I 
reached London at 7 :45 P. M. — less than eleven hours after I 
had left Paris. On the train met a Canadian officer. Colonel 
Eddy Dean, a great friend of A. Duncan Reid. 

Monday, November 19th. 

Made an early start and fortunately our Ambassador be- 
lieves in getting to his office early for this enabled me to get 
through with him by 10 o'clock, after which came conferences 
with the Military and Naval Attaches and the other officials. 

The Ambassador had invited me to take tea with Mrs. Page 
and him and for an hour it seemed as though I had been trans- 
ported to America — an illusion heightened by the fact that Mrs. 
Page's American tea biscuits, made with white flour, were in 
marked contrast to the hunks of war bread to which I was 
accustomed. 

Tuesday, November 20th. 

At 11 o'clock called on Colonel Lyster, the head of our 
medical forces, whose headquarters are in Adastral House on 
the Embankment. Spent an hour with him and his Adjutant 
explaining the insurance plan and then lunched with Mr. Hugh 
Lewis in the Director's room at the office of the Liverpool and 
London and Globe Insurance Company. More conferences in 
the afternoon and then tea at the Bazaar given to obtain funds 
for the aid of crippled soldiers. I dined in the evening with 
Mrs. Lewisohn, mother of Dr. Richard Lewisohn. 
Wednesday, November 21st. 

Spent the morning with Major Hamilton, Captain Currier 
and the aviation officer. 

81 



Made plans to have my assistant, Captain Carvalho, visit the 
different camps. Major Hamilton gave me a card to the new- 
American officers club house in Lord Leconfield's magnificent 
home, donated by him for that purpose, and Captain Currier and 
I lunched there. More conferences in the afternoon, tea with 
Mrs. Copley Hewitt and her mother, and dined with Alice Porges 
at Claridge's. 

Thursday, November 22ncl. 

Had chance to call on Mr. Beard at the Separation Depart- 
ment and caught the 12:50 staff boat train from Charing Cross 
for Folkestone. At the table opposite me in the train was a 
delightful English officer. Brigadier General J. W. Marsden 
Newton (Royal Body Guard), who is much interested in Ma- 
sonry and the time passed very quickly. On the boat met 
General Lassiter and when we landed at Boulogne, Colonel Gage 
met us and looked after us admirably. We all had a fine dinner 
at the Criterion and Mr. Peter Fletcher and I were fortunate 
enough to get a compartment to ourselves on the train for Paris. 

Friday, November 23rd. 

Arrived at 7 A. M.. and after considerable time managed 
to secure a taxi which took me to the hotel. Found that every- 
thing had been going along nicely at the office during my 
absence. 

Saturday, November 24th. 

Forwarded applications covering insurance for $26,000,000 
(in view of the subsec[uent achievements of the War Risk Insur- 
ance Bureau, this was nothing at all, but to one who had 
experienced the laborious work in starting a commercial life 
insurance company, the accomplishment was wonderful). Had 
lunch at a very fine restaurant — Pruniers — with the Ries, as the 
guests of Mr. Lamplaugh. If Mr. Lamplaugh can make auto- 
mobile bodies (his business) as well as he can order a lunch, he 
is certainly a genius. Afterwards we went to the French War 
Office, where I had ordered some official war photographs, back 
to the office and dinner w'ith the Ries. 

Sunday, November 25th. 

Went to the office and was rewarded by getting three letters 
from home postmarked September 18th, October 29th and Nov- 
ember 1st, respectively. Dined with the Shoningers and took a 
long w^alk in the afternoon through the Bois to the Island Club, 
where I dined. 

November 26th, 27th, 28th. 

Three strenuous days during which I worked at the office 
until late at night, having found it necessary to reorganize the 
entire system to make it applicable to the unusual character 
of war risk w^ork. The ordinary rules applicable to an insurance 
office cannot be used and I had to start afresh. I have heard 

82 



that Burbank frequently roots up an entire patch in his garden 
when he finds a plant developing in the wrong direction and 
I now know his feelings. 

Thursday, November 29th. 

Thanksgiving Day away from home. On days like this one 
seems to miss those at home more than ever, but what's the 
use of kicking — c'est la guerre. Spent the morning at the office 
and at 12:15 left for the Hotel Palais d'Orsay, where the 
American Club had its luncheon. A wonderful assembly. All 
the big guns of Paris were there — Pershing, Joffre, Viviani and 
Tardieu spoke. It was certainly an historic occasion — the first 
Thanksgiving with the American troops in Paris. A number of 
good speeches, including one by Brainbridge Colby. Back to 
the office and worked until 7, when I went to the Hotel Rich- 
mond for dinner — an hotel for American officers run by Mrs. 
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., and other ladies who wait on the table. 
This has its disadvantages, for you cannot swear at the waitress 
if she spills soup down your back. Very good turkey and mince pie. 

Friday, November 30th. 

Spent some time at the Embassy helping to decipher my 
cables which have come in much mangled condition. Then to 
the Hotel Mediteranee, where I saw General Harbord and 
Colonel Logan about Bulletin No. 12, which they finally approved. 

Sunday, December 2nd. 

As usual, spent the morning at the office and in the after- 
noon went to the Trocadero with Mr. Shoninger where we had 
two seats in the box of the Minister of Education. Charpentier 
conducted and a very excellent orchestra gave the "Damnation 
of Faust." Took a long walk to the Quay de Billy to the United 
States Army storehouse and then to the Island Club for dinner. 

Monday, December 3rd. 

Had a visit from a French Deputy who wished to copy our 
pension and insurance bill for France. After obtaining per- 
mission from headquarters, I gave him all the data I could 
(subsequently the French Government adopted an insurance bill 
on a very much modified scale.) It is interesting to know that 
the experiment we are trying in the United States is being 
watched by other countries. 

Tuesday, December 4th. 

The American Consul General, Mr. Thackera, and I took 
lunch together. The consulate is located in the same building 
with me and as Mr. Thackera is a brother-in-law of William 
Tecumseh Sherman, we had many things to talk about. 

Wednesday, December 5th. 

Went to headquarters at Chaumont, where I took up a 
number of matters with Colonel Logan. Had the pleasure of 
hearing him dictate a memorandum for General Pershing recom- 

83 



mending my promotion as Major. He invited me to lunch with 
him at his mess with Colonel McCoy, Captain O'Brien and some 
French officers. 

Thursday, December 6th. 

Received information from headquarters that General Per- 
shing had instructed the General commanding the Four Divisions 
to detail officers representing their various organizations to meet 
me for conferences. I was directed to proceed to the various 
division headquarters for the purpose. 

Saturday, December 8th. 

Received a cable from Mr. McAdoo today announcing that 
Major Straight would sail on the Adriatic. This probably means 
that 1 will not be home before the end of January. 

Sunday, December 9th. 

After working at the office all morning went to the Shon- 
ingers for dinner, where I was much surprised to find that they 
knew it was the anniversary of my wedding. 

Tuesday, December 11th. 

Spent a very interesting day at headquarters at Chaumont 
arranging details of my trip to the various divisions with Lt. 
Colonel Logan and on the train coming back to Paris shared the 
compartment with Colonel Carson, Lt. Colonel Longley, Captain 
Ord (A. D. C. to General Liggett) and General Bethel, Judge 
Advocate General. 

Thursday, December 13th. 

The anniversary of my father's death. I have thought a 
great deal about him today and his work during the Civil War. 
In the afternoon I addressed the officers of the various organi- 
zations near Paris, who were ordered to report to me by the 
Commanding General, Line of Communications. 

Sunday, December 16th. 

Left for Chaumont at 8 A. M. ; Captain Carvalho accom- 
panied me. In the afternoon I spoke at the Y. M. C. A. hut to over 
500 officers and men, explaining the War Risk Insurance Act. 



84 



XVIII 

Monday, December 17th. 

Started on a most interesting trip at 8 A. M. in a Cadillac 
staff car for the headquarters of the Second Division at Bour- 
mont. Mighty cold trip. Reported to General Omar Bundy 
and was taken by him to the Town Hall, where I addressed 
about thirty officers. The Town Hall was formerly a chateau 
of Louis XV, and our meeting place was one of his bed rooms. 
The town is beautifully situated and one gets a gorgeous view 
from the chateau. Saw snow for the first time in France. After 
messing with Lt. Randolph, we started at 1 :30 for the head- 
quarters of the Twenty-Sixth Division at Neufchateau, a very 
good sized town. The commanding officer. General Edwards, 
was ill and I did not meet him, but addressed about forty officers. 
Major Howard of the 101st Machine Gun Battalion (Secretary of 
the Travelers Insurance Company of Hartford) who was sta- 
tioned in a small village about five miles away, came in to see 
me and took us over to the Lafayette Club, an officers' club just 
started by the French and American officers. The French orderly 
was very insistent that we should have an American cocktail, but 
honesty compels me to admit that I could not recognize the 
drink. I was told that the commanding officer at Liverpool had 
stated that the landing records for Major Howard's organization 
were the best of any that had been presented to him and I can 
readily appreciate that the Major's executive ability — so well 
known in the insurance world — has enabled him to have the 
model organization which I understand he has. 

Captain Loy, who in civil life was connected with the National 
Cash Register Company at Dayton, was celebrating his birthday 
at the Club and invited us to the feast. The menu was so unusual 
that I shall reproduce it: Soup, snails (which I skipped), turkey, 
goose, vegetables, cheese and lots of champagne. The Captain 
had given the orderly five francs to keep a roaring fire in the 
stove (it was intensely cold outside) and he did his work so 
effectively that the Captain had to give him another five francs 
to stop him otherwise we would have been roasted alive. Spent 
the night (candor prevents me saying that we slept) at the 
Providence Hotel and it was difficult to imagine any less com- 
fortable place. 

Tuesday, December 18th. 

Left at 8:15 for the headquarters of the First Division at 
Gondrecourt, passing on the road large bodies of French artil- 
lery ; evidently there is going to be some important movement 

85 



soon — perhaps at Nancy, which seems to be the most logical 
point. Met General Bullard and talked to 50 officers. The 
Adjutant, Captain Lowrie, is a very fine officer and had arranged 
things in the most systematic manner imaginable. Messed with 
him and then left at 1 :30 for the new headquarters of the Forty- 
Second Division, but as no troops had arrived, we returned to 
Chaumont, Avhere we spent the night. Today we passed through 
Domeray, where Joan of Arc was born. 

Wednesday, December 19th. 

This was one of the most interesting days of my trip. We 
motored to Langres, where I spoke to about 200 of the higher 
officers attending the staff school here. 

Lunched at the officers' mess with Captain Morgan, who 
crossed on the Adriatic with me. This town is the most beauti- 
fully situated of any I have struck and the view from the front 
of the school is gorgeous. On the train met General Liggett, 
General Russell, Chief Signal Officer, Colonel Wilgus (who in 
civil life was Vice-President of the New York Central) and 
Mrs. Cartier. Mrs. Cartier had just been visiting her husband, 
an officer in the French Army. 

Thursday, December 20th. 

As was to be expected found a great accumulation of work 
at the office. The applications are coming in at a great rate 
showing how effective is the intensive campaign which has been 
inaugurated. 

The Adjutant General in London advised me that Major 
Straight's ship would arrive a1)out Christmas. 

Sunday, December 22nd. 

Ended up the week with $121,000,000 of insurance in force, 
a wonderful result. 

Monday, December 24th. 

Spent the day preparing for Major Straight, whose ship is 
due shortly. In the evening dined with Dr. Hipwell, who had 
invited me to share a Smithfield ham which had been sent to 
him and we had an old-fashioned American ham and egg supper. 
Loie Fuller, a former dancer, now a Red Cross Nurse, was there 
also. Not like the usual Christmas Eve's home — no tree dress- 
ing, filling of stockings, etc. 

Tuesday, December 25th. 

Cliristmas away from home. The less said about it the 
better, although Mrs. Shoninger did her best to make me forget 
my loneliness with some very acceptable presents and a pleasant 
dinner ; in the evening a large gathering at the Ries. 

Wednesday, December 26th. 

No word from Major Straight, although I believe he landed 
yesterday at Liverpool. In the evening Carvalho and I dined 

86 



at the Restaurant des Artistes, a very Bohemian place in the 
Latin quarter, where he had some amusing table companions. 

Thursday, December 27th. 

Received a telegram from Major Straight that he would 
arrive in the evening with 33 officers and asking me to engage 
rooms for all of them, which I did, and went to the station to 
meet them at 9:50, but upon learning that the train would be 
an hour late and feeling very miserable from the effects of a 
sore throat, I left my directions with Lt. Ewing, our R. T. O., 
and went back to the hotel, not wanting to stand around in 
the cold. 

Friday, December 28th. 

Major Straight arrived this morning and spent considerable 
time with me. He has a charming personality and I can readily 
understand why he is liked so well. He returned in the after- 
noon and we talked for several hours. 

Saturday, December 29th. 

Major Straight came at 9 :30 and we spent the entire day 
together. He would like me to remain with him some time but 
I know I am badly needed in Washington to straighten things 
out there as they seem in a terrible muddle but when that is 
accomplished I want to return here, for this is where the history 
of the world is being made "fresh every hour." 

Major Straight gave a delightful luncheon in my honor in 
the most beautiful apartment in the Hotel Crillon, in which I had 
ever been. Ten of the principal officers were invited to meet 
me and after luncheon we went into another room where the 
rest of the officers were assembled and I spoke for an hour. 
Major Straight is to go to headquarters today and when he 
returns on Tuesday I will know more of his plans. He brought 
the following letter to me from Mr. McAdoo : 

THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY 
Washington 

December 5, 1917. 
My Dear Captain Wolfe : — 

I want to thank you for your very interesting letter of 
November 10th with accompanying material. We are to be con- 
gratulated in having a man of your executive capacity to take 
charge of the work in Paris. I shall be anxious to have your 
personal report as soon as you return, and I know that your 
advice and suggestions will be of the greatest value to the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance. 

I regret very much that Major Straight's sailing has been 
unavoidably delayed and that it has not been possible to relieve 
you at an earlier date. I hope, however, this has not caused you 
any inconvenience and want to take this opportunity to assure 
you how deeply I have appreciated the splendid service you have 
rendered in organizing the work in Paris. 

Faithfully yours, 

(Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 
Captain S. H. Wolfe, Secretary, 

c/o American Ambassador, 
Paris, France. 

87 



XIX 

Monday, December 31st. 

Went over the papers which Major Straight brought here 
from Washington and lunched with the two Captains Mack. In 
the evening I dined with the Ambassador and Mrs. Sharpe. They 
live in a beautiful house, one of the modern houses embodying, 
however, all of the beauties of the old ones and I had a delightful 
evening. Lt. Colonel Dawes, of Chicago, was the other guest. 
The Ambassador is very keen on the sciences, particularly on 
astronomy, and all in all it was the most intellectual evening 
I have spent here. Colonel Dawes is a wonder, and unless I am 
a poor judge of men, we shall hear more of him. 

Tuesday, January 1, 1919. 

Called at the Hotel Crillon for Major Straight and received 
the cheering news that headquarters had issued orders relieving 
me, so I plan to leave Paris tomorrow. Had Major Straight, 
Major Lindsley and Captain Carvalho for lunch. In the evening 
Captain Carvalho gave a dinner for me at the Officers' Club. 
Madame Rothschild had turned over her gorgeous house at 33 
Rue de Faubourg St. Honore for the use of Allied officers. A 
very pleasant evening. Among the guests were Colonel Hay- 
good. Colonel Clayton, Lt. Colonel Booth and Major Lindsley. 

Wednesday, January 2nd. 

Started for home. My last view of Paris was a damp, 
muggy place, the streets covered with slush, and no gladness 
or joy. The 9:10 train landed me in Boulogne at 3:15, where I 
planned to spend the night; much to my surprise I found that 
owing to the tide the afternoon boat would not leave until 4:15 
so I caught it and as a result was in my hotel in London at 8 :45. 
On the boat became acquainted with a charming officer, Lt. 
Colonel Newton-King, a King's messenger, who invited me to 
share his cabin with him all the way over. He was bearing 
messages to the King from Italy and his pouches were chained 
together with heavy weights so if anything had happened to the 
boat, they could have been tossed overboard and the messages 
would not have fallen into the hands of the enemy. 

Thursday, January 3rd. 

My first visit this morning was to the steamship offices and 
I was pleased to find the St. Louis, which had been scheduled 
to sail some days ago, would not leave until tomorrow, so I 
secured accommodations on her, although she had the reputation 

88 



of being an uncomfortable ship. I determined, however, to put 
up with nine days of discomfort in order to get home early. 
Lunched with Mr. Armstrong, who has just returned from 
America and was the first person with whom I talked who had 
seen my wife since I left home. In the evening I dined with 
Lady Drummond, who had crossed with me on the Adriatic, and 
had a most enjoyable evening. 

Friday, January 4th. 

Left Euston at 9:15 for Liverpool in the boat train. In my 
car were two delightful English boys — officers in the Royal 
Flying Corps — who had been unable to get a taxi and therefore 
shared mine from the Carlton ; also a very pleasant English 
Captain who is going on the St. Louis. At Liverpool, boarded 
the ship at 3 and we were told that we would leave at 4 A. M. 
Very nice cabin, clean and roomy and an excellent dinner. 

Saturday, January 5th. 

When I arose this morning, I wondered at the steadiness 
of the ship for I felt no tremors at all; the reason for this 
became apparent as soon as I went on deck, for while we had 
left the dock the previous night at 10, we were at anchor in 
the river but a few hundred yards away — a situation which the 
opaque covering over the port hole prevented me from observ- 
ing when I was in my cabin. No one is allowed ashore and 
boats are not allowed to approach the ship even to put news- 
papers aboard. The English Captain, who was my railroad 
companion on my way from London, met me on deck and sug- 
gested that we get seats at the same table. He is Captain 
Leonard C. Beecroft, and while we were pacing the deck he told 
me that he was going to the United States to be married to a 
girl from a town of which he imagined I had never even heard — 
Frontenac, Minn. I told him that I knew only one person there, 
General Gerard, and it turned out that he is to marry the 
General's granddaughter, a young lady I had met when I spent 
a week-end at the house with Rukard Hurd. John E. Masefield, 
the English poet is aboard and at our table are Captain J. H. 
Mathews, who in civil life is Professor of Chemistry at the 
University of Wisconsin, and Captain J. C. Beatty, a West 
Pointer, attached to the Ordnance Department. There are a 
large number of Naval Officers returning to the United States 
to take command of some new destroyers to be sent to Euro- 
pean waters. 

Sunday, January 6th. 

After I turned in last night I hear the anchor raised and 
at 11 we started off. Rose at 8 this morning and after break- 
fast walked on deck. On our port Ireland was seen and Scotland 
to the starboard. Just as we got opposite the Giant's Causeway 
a patrol boat crossed our bows, flew signals, and we turned 
completely around, it being stated that we are headed for Bel- 

89 



fast. We don't know how many days we will be there, but the 
Hini subs are evidently active. 

Monday, January 7th. 

Remained in Belfast Harbor all day yesterday and left at 
7 :30 A. M. today. As soon as we left the coast we ran into a 
storm, which tossed us around at a fearful rate. This kept up 
all day, getting worse at night, — some of the Naval officers on 
board told me it was as severe as any storm they had ever seen. 
Squalls of snow and waves mountain high washing over the 
ship. One gunner was washed overboard and no attempt was 
made to get him as no boat could live in that sea and he was 
probably dead when he struck the water. The storm kept up 
all day. I lunched, but did not go down to dinner — went to 
bed instead — wasn't sea sick but several particles of undigested 
food were forcibly ejected from my mouth. 

Tuesday, January 8th. 

Still very rough but enjoyed my three meals. I have never 
seen a more gorgeous sight than the high sea which is running. 
Walked a little on deck but read nearly all day other than the 
time spent with Captain Beecroft, who has been in bed two days. 

Wednesday, January 9th. 

Glorious sunset. First we have seen this trip. The rough 
sea was providential for it stayed with us through the danger 
zone and thus prevented any sub from coming to the surface. 
We are told that we are out of the danger zone now and a load 
of responsibility seems lifted from the ship's officers. Had a 
long walk and a very pleasant talk with John Masefield. Found 
him a most interesting companion. Remarkable rainbow effects 
observable this morning. Sea continued rough in the afternoon 
and evening. 

Thursday, January 10th. 

Rather rough all day, but managed to walk quite a great 
deal. Major H. W. Alden (Ordnance), Captain Beecroft and I 
played three handed cribbage. Spent the evening in the lounge 
talking with some of the Naval Officers. If all goes well we 
will reach New York Tuesday. 

Friday, January 11th. 

Unusually warm today but quite some rolling. John Mase- 
field loaned me his latest book, "Our Old Front Line," which 
I read with great interest, as it dealt with the Somme battlefield, 
over which I had been when with the British Army. Spent the 
evening with Commander B. C. Allen, who had been an instructor 
for two years at the Naval Academy. 

Saturday, January 12th. 

The roughest day yet ; I had been told by many that this 
is the roughest trip they have ever had. Few people are at 

90 



meals and I feel now that I can class myself as a good sailor. 
The sight of the huge waves breaking over the bows and covering 
the ship completely is awe-inspiring. Even though the racks 
are on the table one has to be careful that the plates do not 
slip into the lap. Played cribbage with Major Alden until he 
felt ill, talked with Captain Mathews until he suddenly retired 
and then spent the evening with Mr. Bosqui — an engineer from 
California — and found that we had a number of friends in 
common, among them Will H. Davis, of Los Angeles. 

Sunday, January 13th. 

The sea continued so rough that walking on the deck was 
almost impossible. Attended church service by the Purser. After- 
wards tried again to walk, but the decks were covered with 
water. In the evening, Mr. Sheldon, of Topeka, author of "In 
His Steps," talked on "What's a Man Worth." Played cribbage 
with the Major until bed time. 

Monday, January 14th. 

Our steering gear broke last night and we laid to for two 
hours. At noon today we had 400 miles to go to the Ambrose 
Channel Light Ship ; normally, we should make that in a day 
but I doubt whether we will be able to land before Wednesday 
morning. It is very cold and although the sea has moderated 
slightly, it is too cold to stay on deck. 

Tuesday, January 15th. 

When I arose this morning, I learned that we had passed 
Nantucket Light Ship at 2 A.M., and that we would probably 
be at Quarantine at 3 P. M. All of the familiar land marks 
were observed with added interest. Coney Island, Sandy Hook, 
the Highlands, all seemed like old friends ; the Statue of Liberty 
never looked so beautiful before. We rounded the Battery and 
approached our pier at 23rd Street and the North River at 
about 4 P. M., but much to our chagrin we anchored in the 
river, as owing to the amount of ice which filled the slip we 
could not get in until the tide helped carry it out. It was 8:45 
P. M. before the tugs succeeded in forcing a passageway through 
the floes and the delay seemed interminable. All of this was 
forgotten, however, when upon landing I found my wife and my 
brother. Thanks to telegraphic instructions from the Secretary 
of the Treasury, my baggage was passed quickly and a taxi took 
me home. 

So ended an interesting trip replete with unusual happenings. 



91 



XX 

As soon as I could do so I reported my arrival by telephone 
to Mr. Love, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Avho, as 
Mr. McAdoo's representative, approved of my suggestion that I 
remain in New York for the balance of the week for the purpose 
of preparing my report. 

The thing- which made the most impression upon me was 
the utter absence of all traces of the war; it was quite evident 
that the 3,000 miles not only acted as a barrier to any physical 
destruction, but served also as a screen which shielded the 
people in this country from the psychological effects of the 
struggle. It was also a shock to see how free our people were 
from the ill effects of the war as compared with those in Eng- 
land, and to a greater degree with those in France. One missed 
the great number of women wearing heavy mourning — so notice- 
able in France ; the great number of mutilated soldiers so 
numerous in France were conspicuous by their absence. 

In less than a week my report was ready and I reported 
to Mr. McAdoo in Washington. The Secretary took up with 
me its details and for the first time I think had brought home 
to him in a most direct way the necessity for changing the 
methods of administration then in vogue in the War Risk Bureau. 
Never before had the problem been presented to him from the 
standpoint of the soldier in the field and I believe that he was 
greatly impressed with the new viewpoint. This opinion was 
strengthened by the contents of two letters, copies of which 
were shortly afterwards handed to me by Mr. Love, the Assist- 
ant Secretary. Both of these letters were dated January 22, 
1918, and were as follows : 

Treasury Department 
Washington 

January 22, 1918 
My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 

In view of the experience of Captain S. H. Wolfe and his 
familiarity with similar conditions abroad, it is advisable that 
he aid the administration of the War Risk Insurance Bureau, in 
order that we may avoid the errors which have been made in 
other countries. 

I, therefore, request that he be detailed by you to serve in 
the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury who has 
charge of the work of that bureau. 

I shall be grateful if this can be done. 
Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 

Secretary. 
Hon. Newton D. Baker, 
Secretary of War. 

92 



Treasury Department 
Washington 

January 22, 1918 
My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 

In August, 1917, at my request, you detailed Captain S. H. 
Wolfe, Quartermaster Corps, U.S.R., to report to me for the pur- 
pose of preparing a report on the English and French methods 
of taking care of the dependents of the enlisted men in those 
countries, (See paragraph 22 S. O. 188, WD 1917). 

When he was about to return to this country it was deemed 
advisable to have him remain in France in order that his experi- 
ence in insurance matters might be utilized for the benefit of 
the War Department and the Treasury Department in the estab- 
lishment of the European Office of the War Risk Bureau. You, 
accordingly, cabled to General Pershing instructing him to detail 
Captain Wolfe for that purpose (See G. O. 50 A. E. F. 1917). 

Captain Wolfe has rendered the Treasury Department very 
valuable service in pursuance of these orders and by reason of 
his information and knowledge of conditions overseas and of the 
status and needs of the War Risk Insurance work there, as well 
as his general knowledge of insurance matters, his continued 
service in assisting in the administration of the War Risk Bureau 
is extremely desirable. It is my belief that it is necessary, for 
the proper effectiveness of Captain Wolfe's services in this 
connection, that he be given a rank appropriate to the impor- 
tance of the work he has performed and will be called upon to 
perform. At the same time this will be a proper recognition of 
the service he has rendered. 

I, therefore, beg to suggest for your consideration that he 
be given immediately the rank of Colonel in the Quartermaster 
Corps, National Army. 

In view of the exigencies of the work of the War Risk 
Bureau it is deemed important that this suggestion be acted 
upon as promptly as possible. 

Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 

Secretary. 
Hon. N. D. Baker, 
Secretary of War. 

It was extremely pleasing to have Secretary McAdoo record 
his opinion of my work in this manner and I confess that I was 
pleased at his request for my promotion. I am of the opinion 
that the professional men of this country who accepted com- 
missions in the Reserve Corps did so with no thought of the 
rank which their commissions would carry. In my own case 
I know that my appointment as Captain meant nothing to me 
at the time ; my experience in Europe, however, showed me 
that it was necessary for officers undertaking important work 
to have a rank commensurate with the importance of their 
duties. Any one who has had any experience with Army mat- 
ters will understand this and I was greatly pleased, therefore, 
that the Secretary of the Treasury thought that I should be a 
Colonel. Of course, officers in the Army are not usually jumped 
from a Captaincy to a Colonelcy and I was not surprised, there- 
fore, at the issuance of the following order : 

93 



War Department, 
Washington, January 31, 1918. 
Extract 

Special Orders No. 26: 
64. The promotion of Capt. S. H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Reserve 
Corps, to the grade of major, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, 
writh rank from January 31, 1918, is announced. Upon the com- 
pletion of his present duties Captain Wolfe will report to the 
Secretary of the Treasury for duty in connection with the War 
Risk Insurance Bureau. 
By order of the Secretary of War : 

John Biddle, 
Major General, Acting Chief of Staff. 
Official: 
H. P. McCain, 
The Adjutant General. 

Between January 22 and February 3rcl, when my promo- 
tion was accepted, I returned to my old station — in the office 
of Colonel Littell. During my absence the very important in- 
surance matters connected with cantonment construction had 
been admirably carried on by my brother — Lee J. Wolfe — who 
on numerous occasions was urged to take a commission and give 
all of his time to Army matters ; he felt, however, that his duty 
to our own office organization prevented this and this was an- 
other incident of his sound judgment and willingness to sacri- 
fice his own interest in order that I might be permitted to 
continue the work which I had started. 

While stationed in Colonel Littell's office, I completed my 
full report and on January 25th submitted it to the Secretary. 
The receipt of this was acknowledged by the Secretary as 
follows : 

Treasury Department 
Washington 

February 1. 1918. 
Captain S. H. Wolfe, U. S. A., 
Washington, D C. 

Dear Captain Wolfe : — 

I have received your report dated January 2Sth, 1918, cover- 
ing investigations made by you in England and France, at my 
direction, to determine the best plan for administering relief 
methods for enlisted men and their dependents. 

The information you have obtained will be most helpful to 
the Government in administering the very important work of 
the War Risk Insurance Bureau, and I desire to express my very 
deep appreciation of the valuable services you have rendered in 
making these investigations and also in initiating the overseas 
work of the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 

Cordially yours, 

(Signed) W. G. McAdoo, 

Secretary. 

In compliance with the instructions contained in the Special 
Order quoted above I reported to Mr. McAdoo, who in response 

94 



to my request for specific instructions dictated the following 
letter, which he signed and handed to me : 

The Secretary of Treasury, 
Washington. 

February 7, 1918. 
My Dear Major Wolfe: — 

I have just received formal word from the War Depart nent 
of your promotion and detail to the Treasury Department, and 
also your own note to the same effect. I need not assure you 
what deep satisfaction this gives me. Your work in France for 
the Bureau of War Risk Insurance was highly satisfactory and 
I hope that you will be able to prove of even greater assistance 
here. You will please keep in close touch with Assistant Secretary 
Love, to whom I have entrusted general supervision of the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance and who will go into the details 
of the situation with you. 

With warm regards, I am 

Cordially yours, 

(Signed) W. G. McAdoo. 
Major S. H. Wolfe, 
Washington, D. C. 

The Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, who was most 
responsible for the preliminary work involved in the War Risk 
Insurance Act, its passage through Congress and the installation 
of the Bureau, was Dr. Leo S. Rowe, who had been Professor 
of Political Science at the University of Penns3dvania. Dr. Rowe 
was a tower of strength to Mr. McAdoo and few appreciated 
how many of the latter's successful policies were due to the 
former. Dr. Rowe was primarily responsible for my going to 
Europe and it was with satisfaction, therefore, that I received 
the following from him: 

Assistant Secretary of the Treasurj^ 
Washington 

February 11, 1918. 
My Dear Major Wolfe: — 

While I have not had any official information, I have heard, 
with great pleasure, of your promotion, and want to take an 
early opportunity to extend most cordial congratulations. Your 
services certainly deserve this, and more. 

Yours most sincerely, 

(Signed) L. S. Rowe. 
Major S. H. Wolfe, 
165 Broadway, 
New York City. 



95 



XXI 

Now followed six months of the most engrossing work. It 
is difficult to describe the chaotic condition in which I found the 
records at the Bureau, a condition ascribable to two causes — 
first, the attempt to put in operation over night, as it were, what 
was destined to be the biggest insurance company in the world, 
and second, the attempt to administer such an organization with 
inexperienced, political appointees. This would have been a 
man's job for the most skillful insurance office systematizer in 
the world. 

Throughout this period, the greatest assistance was ren- 
dered to me by General — then Colonel — H. M. Lord, Quarter- 
master Corps, U. S. A. Nobody will ever realize how much of 
the delay in the payment of beneficiaries was eliminated by 
General Lord's intimate knowledge of Army procedure, his 
broad vision and grasp of the situation, which showed the 
necessity for cutting red tape wherever it existed and his insist- 
ence that all of his subordinates should bear in mind that it 
was the duty of a disbursing officer to find some way for dis- 
bursing the funds under his control rather than to find some 
way for keeping them in the Treasury. I became acquainted 
with this inspiring officer early in my service in the Army — 
in June, 1917 — when he was a Lt. Colonel and it is impossible 
for me to properly acknowledge the great assistance which he 
was to me throughout my Army career. My association with him 
is one of the most pleasant things upon which I can look back. 

Conditions became so bad and complaints so numerous and 
general that the Secretary of War, in May, 1918, suggested to 
the Secretary of the Treasury, that the problem of promptly 
paying to the relatives of soldiers the payments which, in one 
way or another, they expected to receive while the wage earner 
was absent on military service, be inquired into by a representa- 
tive of the War Department, a representative of the Treasury 
Department and that a third man be selected to serve with them. 
Colonel Lord was designated by the Secretary of War to be his 
representative, the Acting Secretary of the Treasury designated 
me to represent the Treasury Department — although I was an 
officer in the War Department — and we recommended that Her- 
bert D. Brown, Chief of the United States Bureau of Efficiency 
be designated as the third investigator. The Board convened 
and organized by electing Colonel Lord as President and me as 

96 



Recorder. We had numerous sessions, analyzed the delays and 
suggested remedies. It is gratifying to note that the installation 
of these requirements put a stop at once to many of the exas- 
perating delays. The Secretary of War and the Assistant 
Secretary of the Treasury commented upon the reports as 
follows : 

War Department 
Washington 

June 28, 1918. 
My Dear Major Wolfe: — 

I have received and read with great interest the copy of the 
report of the Committee appointed to consider the problem of 
promptly paying to the relatives of soldiers money which in one 
form or another they might expect to receive during the absence 
of men in the service. You transmit this report to me as Re- 
corder of the Committee and I am in turn asking you to do me 
the kindness of expressing to the Committee my appreciation of 
the thorough and considerate way in which they have performed 
their task. The report is full of interesting and useful informa- 
tion and sets right many of the inquiries which have, from time 
to time seemed otherwise difficult to answer. 

I understand from Dr. Keppel that he has arranged with Mr. 
Love to have the report printed in the Congressional Record. 
This, I think, is a very happy thing to do, as its information 
will then be available for many who have had questions pressed 
upon them about the difficulties of this great and intricate under- 
taking. 

Cordially yours, 

(Signed) Newton D. Baker, 

Secretary of War. 
Major S. H. Wolfe, 

War Risk Insurance Bureau. 
Treasury Department. 



Treasury Department 
Washington 
July First, Nineteen Eighteen. 

Major S. H. Wolfe, 

Bureau of War Risk Insurance, 
Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Major Wolfe: — 

By direction of the Secretary I am writing to acknowledge 
receipt of the copy of the report submitted by Col. Herbert M. 
Lord, Herbert D. Brown, and yourself, covering your survey of 
the work of paying to the relatives and dependents of soldiers, 
the moneys due them under the provisions of the War Risk In- 
surance Act. 

In this connection, I wish to express to your associates and 
yourself, the appreciation of the Treasury Department, of the 
thorough consideration you have given to the problem and the 
valuable service you have rendered. 

In line with the suggestion of the Secretary of War, we are 
undertaking to arrange for the publication of the report as a 
public document. 

Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) Thos. B. Love, 

Assistant Secretary. 

97 



It was felt that many of the reforms which had been sug- 
gested could now be left in the hands of the Bureau Chiefs and 
that I could be of more use to the Government if I addressed 
my attention to the solution of some of the problems of my 
own Corps, which General Lord — much to the gratification of 
everyone in the Army he had been made a Brigadier General 
in the National Army — on numerous occasions had discussed 
with me. I accordingly sent the following letter to Mr. McAdoo : 

July 17, 1918. 
Hon. William G. McAdoo, 

Secretary of the Treasury, 
Washington, D. C. 

My Dear Mr. Secretary: — 

When I returned from France last January, you paid me the 
high compliment of requesting the Secretary of War to detail me 
to assist you in connection with the War Risk Insurance Bureau. 

It is unnecessary for me to refer to the condition of the 
Bureau at that time, to the great number of complaints which 
were pouring in and to the dissatisfaction existing among the 
dependents of thousands of our soldiers throughout the country 
— a condtion which threatened to have a serious effect upon the 
morale of our fighting forces. 

It is equally unnecessary to refer to the present condition 
of affairs at the Bureau, to the solution of the many problems 
of administration which have risen and to the establishment of 
a centralized control, instead of the aimless distribution of 
authority when I first became connected with the organization. 
If I am entitled to even a small share of the credit for that 
development, I shall feel that my detail has been successful. 

But notwithstanding the pleasant association with those in 
charge of the Bureau's work, I must, nevertheless, recognize that 
my own Corps has had problems placed upon it in the solution 
of which I feel that my previous professional training has pecu- 
liarly fitted me to assist. 

If, therefore, in your opinion, the Bureau is in a position 
which will permit my services being directed to the considera- 
tion of problems existing in other Departments, I respectfully 
request that I may be given the necessary clearance papers. 

Allow me, m}' dear Mr. Secretary, to take this opportunity 
of expressing to you my pleasure at being selected by you for 
this work so important to the welfare of our Government at this 
time. It has been a genuine pleasure to be associated with you, 
the Assistant Secretary, the officers of the Bureau, and the Chief 
of the Bureau of Efficiency, at the hands of all of whom I have 
received nothing but uniform kindness and courtesy. 

In view of the urgency of some of the problems, may I 
bespeak for this, your prompt consideration? 

Believe me to be. 

Very respectfully, 

(Signed) S. H. Wolfe. 
Major, Q.M.R.C. United States 
Army, detailed to Bureau of 
War Risk Insurance. 

I showed this to General Lord, who seemed much interested 
and the next morning's mail brought me a copy of a memoran- 
dum which he had sent to the Administrative Division of the 
Quartermaster General's Department : 

98 



Office of the Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General Finance 

July 17, 1918. 
Memorandum for Administrative Division : 

Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. R. C, is now^ on duty with the 
Treasury Department at the request of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, where he has been intimately connected with the work 
of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance If, in the course of devel- 
opments there, he should, eventually, be relieved from duty in the 
Treasury Department, it is requested that he be assigned to duty 
in the Office of the Assistant to the Quartermaster General, in 
charge of Finance. 

H. M. Lord, 
Brigadier General, Q. M. Corps, N. A., 
Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General. 

I heard nothing from the Secretary of the Treasury until 
July 22nd, when the following letter from Mr. Love was received : 

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury 
Washington 

July Twenty-second, Nineteen Eighteen. 

Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. R. C, 

Bureau of W^ar Risk Insurance, 
Washington, D. C. 

Dear Major Wolfe : — 

Your request of July seventeenth to be ordered to return 
to the War Department, addressed to the Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, has been favorably considered. 

As soon as you have completed matters referred to you for 
consideration, you are relieved from duty with the Treasury 
Department, and will report to the Secretary of War for further 
instructions. 

Permit me to express the thanks of the Treasury Department 
for the very valuable services you have rendered in connection 
with the work of the War Risk Insurance Bureau, and, as well, 
my own personal appreciation of the uniform courtesy and de- 
votion to duty which has characterized it. You have contributed, 
in a very large measure, to the success of the important work 
of the Bureau. 

Sincerely yours, 

(Signed) Thomas B. Love, 

Assistant Secretary. 

This was followed by Special Orders 172: 

War Department, Washington, July 24, 1918. 

Special Orders No. 172: Extract 

160. Maj. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, is 
relieved from further duty in the Bureau of War Risk Insur- 
ance and will report to the Quartermaster General for duty in 
the Finance division of his office. 
By order of the Secretary of War, 



Official: 

H. P. McCain, 

The Adjutant General. 



Peyton C. March, 
General, Chief of Staflf. 



99 



XXII 

After I had reported to General Robert E. Wood, acting 
Quartermaster General, and had been received most graciously 
by this talented officer and ordered to report to General Lord, I 
learned for the first time that by direction of the Secretary of 
War, General Lord discussed my case with the Chief of Staff 
and had submitted the following memorandum : 

Office of the Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General Finance 

July 20, 1918. 
MEMORANDUM for Administrative Division. 
Attention: Major Jacobson. 
Under recent date, this office recommended that if, as it was 
understood, Major S. H. Wolfe, Q. M., U. S. R., were relieved 
from duty with the Treasury Department that he be assigned to 
duty in the office of the Assistant to the Quartermaster General 
in charge of Finance. It is now learned that Major Wolfe has 
made request for such relief and that in all probability his re- 
quest will be granted at an early date, and it is, therefore, recom- 
mended that on such relief he be directed to report to the Officer 
in charge of Quartermaster Finance for duty in his office and 
that, in view of the splendid service he has rendered and the 
constructive work he has performed in connection with the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance and other work in the Canton- 
ment Division prior thereto, that he be promoted to the rank 
of Lieutenant Colonel, N. A. The Chief of Staff directs verbally 
that this recommendation be brought to his personal attention. 

H. M. Lord, 
Brigadier General, Q. M. Corps, N. A. 
Assistant to the Acting Quartermaster General. 

This recommendation soon bore fruit as evidenced by 
Special Orders : 

War Department, Washington, July 29, 1918. 

Special Orders No. 176: 
Extract : 
419. The appointment of Major Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster 
Reserve Corps, to the grade of Lieutenant Colonel, Quarter- 
master Corps, National Army, with rank from July 29, 1918, is 
announced. He will report to the Acting Quartermaster General 
of the Army for assignment to duty in his office. 
By order of the Secretary of War : 

Peyton C. March, 
General, Chief of StaflF. 
Official: 

H. P. McCain, 

The Adjutant General. 

100 



The months that followed were most happy ones. Few 
civilians have any idea of the problems which arise in Army 
administration or the system which it has been found necessary 
to use in handling those matters. Not only had General Lord 
installed an efficient system for solving the many intricate 
problems submitted to him, but he had surrounded himself with 
a staff whose loyalty and devotion to him might well serve as 
a model in and out of the Army. Without, in any sense, being 
a martinet or a stickler for empty forms, he insisted upon the 
observance of those amenities of military courtesy which made 
service on his staff so delightful. No officer — no matter how 
inferior his rank — ever felt any hesitancy in submitting to Gen- 
eral Lord troublesome problems, with the firm conviction that the 
experience and good sense of the General would soon find a way 
to solve the difficult}'. It was one of the very few offices in the 
War Department with which I came in contact in which there 
were no petty jealousies. Every man realized that he would 
get from General Lord a square deal and that no favoritism 
existed. 

The atmosphere of confidence and willingness to help which 
existed in the office is well illustrated by an occurrence shortly 
after I reported for duty. The General sent for me and an- 
nounced his intention of appointing me his Executive Officer. 
Those who have had any experience in Bureaus of the Army real- 
ize the power and influence of the Executive Officer. Unless 
otherwise directed all matters are submitted to him before being 
discussed with the Bureau chief. Slight reflection will indicate 
the necessity for this arrangement as it would be an impossi- 
bility for the Chief to decide upon question of policy if he were 
required to bother with details. The Executive Officer, therefore, 
acts as a filter, weeding out those matters which can be effectively 
handled by subordinates and permitting only the more impor- 
tant subjects to come before his Chief. It can be seen readily 
that the position is one of great delicacy and when General 
Lord announced his intention of making me his Executive Officer 
I ventured to point out to him that this appointment might 
cause some resentment on the part of the Officers of the perma- 
nent establishment who had been detailed for duty for some 
time in the office and assured the General of my willingness to 
serve him in any wa}^ he wished, whether I had the title or not. 

In the kindliest manner possible the General pointed out 
that while considerations such as I had urged might be pertinent 
in the administration of a private business, he, as the newly 
appointed Director of Finance, was charged with the duty of 
organizing his office in the most efficient way, that he intended 
to have me take charge of the preparation of the War Depart- 
ment estimates to be submitted to Congress and that the impor- 
tance of this work rendered it necessary that it should be 
performed by his Executive Officer. Many Bureau Chiefs would 

101 



have resented a sug-g-estion such as the one I made, but his treat- 
ment of me in tliis matter was characteristic of General Lord. 

The preparation of the estimates to be submitted to the 
Congress by the War Department is a comphcated afifair. My 
first experience was with the Deficiency Bill, which is always 
introduced after the regular appropriations have been made and 
is intended to provide for expenditures in excess of those esti- 
mated in the original bill. The method followed seemed to me to 
be very unbusinesslike and unscientific. Separate appropriations 
were made for the different activities and money required for ac- 
tivity (A) could not be paid for from the money appropriated for 
activity (B) even if activity (B) did not require any or all of the 
money which had been anticipated ; in consequence, deficiencies 
existed in some appropriations while surpluses occurred in others. 
The method then used might well be compared to a house which 
had a separate water tank on the roof for each of the rooms. It 
can be seen readily that some of the tanks would be full, while 
others were empty and would require refilling. The logical plan 
would be to have the water from a central tank available for 
use in the different rooms and the necessity would disappear 
for keeping certain tanks filled with water which would never 
be used. Thanks to General Lord, this condition was remedied 
— if not in its entirety, at least partially — and if our Government 
adopts a proper budget system, this criticism will no longer exist. 

The sessions with the House Committee on Appropriations 
were very interesting. Its Chairman was Swager Shirley of 
Kentucky, a most brilliant man. Unhappy indeed was the officer 
— it mattered not whether he was a Major General or a Second 
Lieutenant — who was not prepared to give an intelligent reason 
for his request for funds. A keen, analytical mind, associated 
with a tongue capable of the most biting sarcasm, were a com- 
bination which proved the undoing of man}- an officer who tried 
to "bluff through" his request. Those of us who attended the 
hearings always knew that when Mr. Shirley threw his glasses 
on the papers in front of him and ordered the stenographer 
"lift up your pen," an explosion was due and when the smoke 
cleared away the offender would have shrunk to microscopic 
proportions. 

Although the Deficiency estimates were submitted to the 
Committee on Appropriations, the regular fiscal year estimates 
were submitted to the House Committee on Military Affairs. I 
suggested to General Lord that in the preparation of the esti- 
mates for the F. Y. 1920, of which he, as the Director of Finance 
was in charge, we should save the time of the Committee and 
embarrassment to various Bureau Chiefs by having "dress 
rehearsals." This plan was carried out and for a number of 
weeks we held daily sessions with the heads of the different 
Bureaus and the assistants who prepared their estimates ; they 
were grilled in the same way in which we felt they would be 

102 



examined at the hearings, the weak points in their estimates 
were developed and the necessary data to support the estimates 
were outhned in advance ; in consequence, when the hearings 
took place, the requests for information had been anticipated 
to a large extent and much time saved. 

To use an Army expression, "the eagles sprouted on my 
shoulders" as a result of the following order : 

War Department, Washington, October 31, 1918. 
Special Orders No. 255 : 
148. The appointment of the following-named officers in the 

Quartermaster Corps, United States Armj% during the existing 
emergency, with rank from October 29, 1918, are announced. 

To be Colonels. 
Lieut. Col. George M. McConnell, Quartermaster Corps 
Lieut. Col. Samuel H. Wolfe, Quartermaster Corps 
Lieut. Col. Kenneth P. Williams, Quartermaster Corps 

(21-.2. A. G. O.-Q. M. C.) 
By order of the Secretary of War: 

Peyton C. March, 
General Chief of Staflf. 
Official: 

P. C. Harris, 

The Adjutant General. 

The Armistice was signed November 11th, 1918, and it was 
interesting to note how unconsciously every emergency officer's 
efiforts were relaxed. It was one thing to serve your country 
while it was at war, but an entirely different one to serve in 
the Army in peace tiines. The work of the Finance Department, 
however, still continued at a high pitch, for demobilization 
brought with it almost as many problems as mobilization. In 
those days Roy O. Kloeber, the Assistant Director of Finance, 
was a tower of strength to General Lord, as he always had been 
during the many years in which they had been associated. 
Kloeber's knowledge of War Department precedents was almost 
uncanny and his value to General Lord and the Finance Depart- 
ment was inestimable. 

Early in April I felt that I could be spared from the Army 
and therefore requested mv discharge. This was granted April 
2nd. 1919 (Par. 2. S. O. 75 P.S. & T. 1919) and I left Washington 
that day. 

It was a great satisfaction to feel that for twenty-two 
months I had been permitted to serve my country as a com- 
missioned officer in the Army ; to feel that the work I had done 
had been of a constructive nature for no matter how badly the 
Bureau of War Risk Insurance was handled, it marked a mile 
stone in the assumption of liability by a Government on behalf 
of its soldiers and sailors ; to feel that my efforts had been 
appreciated as shown by the three promotions which I had 
received in so short a time. 

Shortly after my return to civilian life I received from the 
War Department an official copy of a communication from 

103 



General Lord "in appreciation of your services as a commissioned 
officer of the Quartermaster Corps," as follows : 

April 4, 1919. 
201-FP-2 (Wolfe, S. H.) 

MEMORANDUM for the Director of Purchase, Storage and Traffic. 
Subject: Services rendered by Colonel S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. C. 

1. Under date of April 2nd, 1919, Colonel S. H. Wolfe, Q. M. C, 
Assistant to the Director of Finance and Executive Officer, at his own 
request, was discharged from active service as a commissioned officer 
of the United States Army. 

2. Shortly after the declaration of war. Colonel Wolfe applied for 
and received a commission as Captain, Quartermaster Reserve Corps, 
and was assigned to duty in Washington in the Office of the Canton- 
ment Division. Colonel Wolfe is an insurance actuary in civil life, and 
one of the best known in this country, and his equipment was immedi- 
ately called into play in connection with the insurance interests involved 
in the construction of the cantonments. General Littell, at that time in 
charge of such construction, states that Colonel Wolfe was personally 
responsible for saving to the Government something more than $500,000 
by his intimate acquaintance with insurance matters. 

3. While on duty in the Cantonment Division, he was called upon 
to assist the commission which, under the direction of the Secretary of 
the Treasury, was formulating a measure to provide for the dependents 
of soldiers and insurance for commissioned officers and enlisted men, 
and resulted in the War Risk Insurance Act, which became a law Octo- 
ber 6, 1917. On the completion of that work he was sent to Canada and 
afterwards to England and France as the special representative of the 
Secretary of the Treasury to study relief and compensation systems of 
the Allied Governments, and while in France, on that duty, put in effect 
in the American Expeditionary Forces the provisions of the War Risk 
Insurance Act, which became a law while he was abroad. 

4. Returning to this country he was detailed as the special repre- 
sentative of the Secretary of the Treasury in connection with the 
workings of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, and was responsible 
for the institution of many procedures and reorganizations that resulted 
in relieving, to a great extent, the congested condition that existed there 
at the time. 

5. On the conclusion of that work, he was detailed in the office of 
the Director of Finance and made Assistant Director and Executive 
Officer. To this task he brought a splendid equipment and a familiarity 
with financial problems that proved of the greatest assistance. 

6. Colonel Wolfe is a man of almost unerring judgment, has a very 
wide knowledge of afifairs, is indefatigable, and an officer of the very 
highest character and of very unusual ability. 

7. It is requested that this letter be made a part of his military 
record and that he be furnished a copy for his own information. 

H. M. Lord, 
Brigadier General, 
Assistant to the Director of Purchase, 
Storage and Traffic, Director of Finance. 



104 



XXIII 

I had expected that when I was discharged from the ser- 
vice in April, 1919, I had made my last official appearance 
in khaki. 

As an officer in the Reserve Corps, the President of the 
United States had the power to call me into active service for 
fifteen days in any calendar year, and on July 14th, 1921, I 
received instructions from the Adjutant General directing me to 
report to the Chief of Finance in Washington for duty. When 
I did so. General Lord put me in charge of the preparations of 
the retrenchment program and the preparation of the 1923 War 
Department budget to conform to the requirements of the 
Secretary of War. 

The post of Director of the Budget had been created and 
its first incumbent was Brigadier General Charles G. Dawes, 
who at a great personal sacrifice gave up his banking connec- 
tions in Chicago and devoted his entire time to "squeezing" the 
appropriations made to the various Government activities, in 
order that demands upon the Treasury might be limited to 
actual necessities. 

In addition to Major Browne and Captain Denning of General 
Lord's Staff, two representatives from the General Staff — 
Colonel J. B. Allison and Lt. Colonel Edwin A. Hickman — were 
detailed to assist in this important work. All in all. it was one 
of the most interesting details which could have come to any- 
one. It gave me a better insight into the true relationship 
between Congressional appropriations and Departmental dis- 
bursements than I could have obtained in any other way. I 
was relieved from duty on July 29th, 1921, and proceeded to 
Lake Placid. 

This memorandum would be incomplete did it not record 
what was the greatest honor which has ever been paid to me. 

On November 10th, the President of the United States sent 
to the Senate my nomination as Brigadier General, Finance 
Reserve Corps, Army of the United States, and on November 
22nd the Senate confirmed the nomination. 

105 



XXIV 

As indicated in the Foreword, many of my Father's papers 
were lost by shipwreck, and in order to obtain a definite record 
of his services during the Civil War, I asked the Adjutant Gen- 
eral of the Army to furnish me with an abstract from the 
official records, which he did, as follows : 

WAR DEPARTMENT 

THE ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE 
STATEMENT OF THE MILITARY SERVICE OF 

Solomon B. Wolfif, or Solomon B. Wolfe, in the Civil War. 

Official records in this office show services in the Civil War under 
the name of Solomon B. Wolfe, or similar names as follows, all the 
services having apparently been performed by the same person. 

Solomon Wolff was enlisted August 27, 1861, at Newport, Kentucky, 
in the General Service of the United States; was appointed Hospital 
Steward September 2, 1861, and was honorably discharged as Hospital 
Steward August 3, 1863, at Bowling Green, Kentucky. 

He was mustered in as Solomon Wolff October 18, 1863, at Nashville, 
Tennessee, to date August 4, 1863, as Assistant Surgeon, 7th Regiment, 
Kentucky Cavalry Volunteers, to serve three years. He tendered his 
resignation as such November 29, 1863, at Nashville, Tennessee, on 
account of domestic affliction, and was honorably discharged in Special 
Field Orders, No. 335, Par. 2, Department of the Cumberland, dated 
December 14, 1863, to take effect from that day. While an officer of this 
regiment, it appears that he served at different points in Tennessee and 
Kentucky, being for a time Medical Director of East Tennessee, at 
Knoxville. 

He entered into a contract February 3, 1864, under the name Solo- 
mon Wolff as a Contract Surgeon, United States Army, and performed 
duty in that capacity at the Medical Director's Office, Department of 
the Ohio, at Knoxville, Tennessee. The contract was terminated June 
3, 1864. 

He was mustered in June 14, 1864, at Cincinnati, Ohio, under the 
name Solomon Wolff, as Assistant Surgeon, 165th Regiment, Ohio In- 
fantry Volunteers, to serve 100 days, and was mustered out and honorably 
discharged as such with the regiment August 31. 1864, at Camp Dennison, 
Ohio. While a member of this regiment he is shown to have been on 
duty at different times at Sandusky, Ohio, Johnson's Island, Ohio, and 
Covington, Kentucky. 

He was mustered in October 22, 1864. at Columbus, Ohio, under the 
name Solomon Wolff, as Surgeon, 181st Regiment Ohio Infantry Volun- 
teers, to serve one year, and he has been recognized by this Department 
as having been mustered in as such to take effect from October 14, 1864. 
He was mustered out and honorably discharged with the regiment July 
14. 1865. at Salisbury, N. C. as Major and Surgeon. As a member of this 
regiment he served in Tennessee, and was later, January 14, 1865, detailed 
for duty under the Medical Director, District of Western Kentucky, at 

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Paducah, and was relieved from that duty April 10, 1865, and directed to 
report to his regiment, which he joined May 24, 1865, at Salisbury, N. C. ; 
was detailed June 23, 1865, at Salisbury, to take charge of the Field 
Hospital of the 22nd Division, 23rd Army Corps, and was announced 
June 27, 1865, as Medical Director of that Division. 

This officer's name is variously borne, also, on the 7th Kentucky 
Cavalry, and the 181st Ohio Infantry, as S. B. Wolff, Sol. Wolff, S. Wolfe, 
and S. B. Wolfe, and he signed his name at different times as S. Baird 
Wolff. 

By authority of the Secretary of War; 

(Signed) P. C. Harris, 

The Adjutant General. 

After my Father's death, I found among his papers the 
following : 

Headquarters, Distr. North Alabama, 
Medical Director's Office 
Decatur, Ala., November 23, 1864. 
Surgeon S. B. Wolff, 
181 Ohio Inf., 

Chief of Operating Staff. 

Dear Sir: — 

Allow me to thank you for your valuable services today in the hos- 
pital and on the battlefield. It affords me great pleasure thus to be able 
to testify to your professional worth and acquired skill. My thanks 
are also due to your assistants ; you will convey these to them in my 
name. From them, I learn of your wonderful coolness at the operating 
table, a trait which one would hardly expect to find in one so young. 
Believe me, my dear Doctor, to be as ever 

Your friend, 

(Signed) Job J. Stephens, 

Medical Director. 

P. S. : — General Granger desires me to inform you that honorable men- 
tion has been made of your name in his dispatches to the De- 
partment. 

J. J. s. 



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